One year later, Adventist pastor still in Togo prison

Adventist Pastor Antonio Monteiro, center, prays during a recent visit with church leaders in the Civil Prison of Lomé, where he has been held without bail for a year. [photo credit: Adventist News Network]

A year after Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Antonio Monteiro was imprisoned in Togo on unsupported charges, church lawyers and human rights activists are redoubling efforts to secure his release.

Togolese government officials this week rejected the Adventist Church’s fifth request for Monteiro’s immediate release, according to a lawyer from the church’s Sahel Union Mission working closely on the case.

This article continues. Keep reading »

Global Youth Day was the Adventist Church’s largest social media event

Last Saturday’s Global Youth Day was the single largest international mobilization of Seventh-day Adventists through social media, said Gilbert Cangy, the world church’s Youth Ministries director.

As hundreds of thousands of Adventist youth participated in community outreach, the church’s Youth departments worldwide reported their service activities live on Hope Channel in Australia, Germany and the United States.

More than 80,000 youth were connected through the social media – including Facebook and Twitter – and over 4 million people were talking about the initiative on the Internet.

This article continues. Keep reading »

Youth around the world are skipping church today to share God

On Sabbath, March 16, millions of youth around the world will hear one less sermon and instead BE the sermon.

Instead of sitting in church and listening to a sermon, the General Conference Youth Ministries Department wants youth to share God through acts of kindness in their communities. The GC Youth Ministries Dept. says 8 million youth will be participating.

This is all part of something called Global Youth Day. The theme is "One in Compassion," and it is meant to kick off the worldwide Youth Week of Prayer.

Why they're doing it

The GC wants youth to feel that they are part of a global movement and that they are all working together with a common mission of service.

The Youth Department hopes Global Youth Day will be "a much needed positive and constructive response to perceived fragmentation," according to the department's proposal.

So here's the plan:

This article continues. Keep reading »

Anti-Christian mobs burn Adventist homes and churches in Pakistan

Residents of a Christian community in eastern Pakistan, among them Seventh-day Adventists, are reeling after a mob torched their homes and businesses in response to alleged insults against Muhammad.

The unrest began last week after a report circulated that a young Christian man had committed blasphemy against Islam’s prophet. By March 9, the situation had escalated and thousands of protesters began setting fire to property owned by Christians in a Lahore neighborhood.

This article continues. Keep reading »