Who are those Adventists?

a “full message” church

One of the many things I appreciate about the Seventh-day Adventist Church is that it is, as someone once said, a “full message” fellowship: the church's core teachings cover just about every aspect of living and faith, from its emphasis on education, health, personal responsibility, to what the Bible calls the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) of Christ's return.

A great place to begin web surfing, in part because it offers links to local Adventists who can be of immediate assistance, is the Adventist Church's Southern Pacific headquarters website 1 , There's a wealth of information there, which will answer most major questions about the Adventists. (I also enjoyed the section which helps clarify a bunch of misconceptions about Adventists, even if there's no mention of bicycles there.) For a global perspective on the church, you can also “visit” the world headquarters via the internet, at www.adventist.org, without the “.au” on the end. This will link you to reports of global activities and various world church departments. Those who want to see just how active the Adventists are around the world—some 203 countries and territories at last count—can find abundant information there.

Zipping back to Australia, we find one of the church's key media ministries, It Is Written Oceania 2 , broadcasts weekly (3.30 am Sundays) on Channel 7 ( Australia), and via the internet at other times. This dynamic telecast offers faithbuilding messages, which help explain a lot of what Adventist Christians believe, including some valuable (to me, at least) insight about Bible prophecy and where things are headed in this world.

more than a church?

In some ways, however, it might be skimping to say that Adventists are merely part of a church movement. We certainly are a church, and a Christian church at that. However, as mentioned earlier, Adventism encompasses much more than weekly worship or even daily devotions. There's a “health message,” and one about education, too.

For health, you could begin with an online “stop” at the Sydney Adventist Hospital 3 , long known as “the San,” from its days as the “Sydney Sanitarium,” as it was named when founded in 1903.

There's a wide range of medical services and information available there.

From this great hospital, swing on over to another “San,” in this case Sanitarium Health Food Company 4 , which produces loads of delightful cereals and other health-promoting products. You'll find the complete story of Weet-Bix, the company behind it, and loads of nutritional information and recipes for you to consider.

Food isn't the only essential for happy living—education is also important.

Adventist Schools Australia 5 , are a network of 60 schools in every part of the country, and more than 12,000 students are served each year in these institutions. Many of those kids go on to Avondale 6 , the church's tertiary college, which has a great reputation for education and community service.

Serving others is a big part of what Christianity is all about. Before “leaving” your tour of the Adventist world, be sure to stop by ADRA Australia 7 to learn about the social-service work ADRA offers, without discrimination, to people in need everywhere.