Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
March 12, 2023
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (often abbreviated by Australians as "the Union"), a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. As of 30 June 2021, baptised church membership stands at 63,401.[1] Despite its small size, the Australian church[2] has made a significant impact on the worldwide Adventist church.
The first Seventh-day Adventist church in Australia was the Melbourne Seventh-day Adventist Church, which formed on 10 January 1886, with 29 members.[3]Ellen White, one of the church's founders, spent nine years ministering to the Australian Adventist community from 1891 to 1900.
For a representative sample of Adventist theology as taught by Australian lecturers and church leaders see the textbook Meaning for the New Millennium: The Christian Faith from a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective. It is not an "official" statement of belief (the 28 Fundamentals play this role), but rather "constitute[s] how a representative group of Australian teachers explain their beliefs".[5]
Statistics
The number of people who consider themselves Seventh-day Adventists is:
The 1996 National Church Life Survey revealed that of all churches in Australia, Seventh-day Adventists have the highest level of church attendance, highest proportion of members with post-graduate degrees, and the highest proportion who regularly contribute financially to their church.
Despite being one of the smaller churches in Australia, the Seventh-day Adventist church in Australia operates a large number of schools In 1992, the church had the 3rd largest number of faith-based schools (with the Catholic and Anglican churches having a larger number of schools each). However, the number of students at each Adventist school was low compared to other independent schools.[10]
The Signs Publishing Company which serves the South Pacific Division, is based in Victoria and prints the Signs of the Times magazine. There are also two other magazine's printed by the Signs Publishing Company for the church. The first is the internal church magazine called The Record. The second is a youth focused magazine called The Edge. The church also operates the Sydney Adventist Hospital and the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company based in Australia and New Zealand.[citation needed]
The Canberra National Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Australian Union Conference (website) comprises nine smaller subdivisions of "local Conferences".
Greater Sydney
The Greater Sydney Conference (website) covers the city of Sydney and its surrounds, in the state of New South Wales.
North New South Wales
The North New South Wales Conference (website) covers the region of New South Wales north of Sydney.
Northern Australia
The Northern Australia Conference (website) covers the northern part of the state of Queensland as well as the adjacent Northern Territory.
South Australia
The South Australia Conference covers the state of South Australia.
South New South Wales
The South New South Wales Conference (website) covers the region of New South Wales south and west of Sydney including the Australian Capital Territory.[12]
South Queensland
The South Queensland Conference (website) covers the southern part of the state of Queensland.
Tasmania
The Tasmanian Conference (website) covers the island state of Tasmania.
Victoria
The Victorian Conference (website) covers the state of Victoria. The Adventist church in Victoria is likely best known to the community for its annual production "Road to Bethlehem" (website), a dramatic reenactment of events leading up to the birth of Jesus.[13]
Western Australia
The Western Australia Conference (website) covers the state of Western Australia.
S. Ross Goldstone. The Angel Said Australia (Warburton, Victoria, Australia: Signs, 1980)
Alwyn Salom, ed. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia. Kew, Victoria: Christian Research Association, 2002 ()
Brown, Reginald K. (2005). Beginnings Down Under: The Story of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Victoria, Australia: Signs Publishing Company. ISBN0-646-44928-1.
Arthur Patrick. Christianity and Culture in Colonial Australia: Selected Catholic, Anglican, Wesleyan and Adventist Perspectives, 1981-1900 (Sydney: Fast Books, 1993). PhD dissertation
Milton Frederick Krause, The Seventh Day Adventist Church in Australia, 1885–1900. MA Thesis, University of Sydney, 1969
^"Seventh-day Adventist Membership:Countries Compared". NationMaster. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
^. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
^Milton Hook, "Descendants of the Dreamtime: The Adventist Mission to the Australian Aborigines". Department of Education (South Pacific Division): Seventh-day Adventist Heritage Series. as cited by Brown. Nathan G. Brown, Pastor George: The Story of the First Aboriginal Adventist Pastor (Australia: Australian Union Conference, 2010), p21–24 and elsewhere; ISBN978-0-646-53284-4
^Meaning for the New Millennium: The Christian Faith from a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective, p.iii
^"Special Feature: Religion and education". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 May 1994. from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
^Adventist pastor Bob Steed was voted its president in 2007. See Record 112:44 (17 November 2007), p5
^SNSW Conference Church Locations. See . Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seventh-day Adventist churches in Australia.
Official website
on the official Adventist website
Statistics from AdventistStatistics.org
"A snapshot of the church in Australia" by Ken Vogel. Record 113:42 (1 November 2008), p8–9
"Australian Union Conference" articles as catalogued in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI). See also "Australia" articles
March 12, 2023
australian, union, conference, seventh, adventists, seventh, adventist, church, australia, formally, organised, often, abbreviated, australians, union, subentity, south, pacific, division, seventh, adventists, june, 2021, baptised, church, membership, stands, . The Seventh day Adventist Church in Australia is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh day Adventists often abbreviated by Australians as the Union a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh day Adventists As of 30 June 2021 baptised church membership stands at 63 401 1 Despite its small size the Australian church 2 has made a significant impact on the worldwide Adventist church Contents 1 History 1 1 Statistics 2 Organisations 3 Local Conferences 3 1 Greater Sydney 3 2 North New South Wales 3 3 Northern Australia 3 4 South Australia 3 5 South New South Wales 3 6 South Queensland 3 7 Tasmania 3 8 Victoria 3 9 Western Australia 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditSee also South Pacific Division of Seventh day Adventists The first Seventh day Adventist church in Australia was the Melbourne Seventh day Adventist Church which formed on 10 January 1886 with 29 members 3 Ellen White one of the church s founders spent nine years ministering to the Australian Adventist community from 1891 to 1900 Outreach to the Australian Aborigines has occurred since the 1890s 4 For a representative sample of Adventist theology as taught by Australian lecturers and church leaders see the textbook Meaning for the New Millennium The Christian Faith from a Seventh day Adventist Perspective It is not an official statement of belief the 28 Fundamentals play this role but rather constitute s how a representative group of Australian teachers explain their beliefs 5 Statistics Edit The number of people who consider themselves Seventh day Adventists is 1911 6095 1922 13965 1947 17550 1961 31633 1971 41617 1981 47474 1991 48341 1996 52655 2001 53844 6 2006 55257 7 2011 63003 8 2016 62945 9 The 1996 National Church Life Survey revealed that of all churches in Australia Seventh day Adventists have the highest level of church attendance highest proportion of members with post graduate degrees and the highest proportion who regularly contribute financially to their church Organisations EditThe church s main tertiary educational institution is Avondale University College in the Lake Macquarie region in New South Wales It offers numerous degrees including nursing teaching and theology citation needed Despite being one of the smaller churches in Australia the Seventh day Adventist church in Australia operates a large number of schools In 1992 the church had the 3rd largest number of faith based schools with the Catholic and Anglican churches having a larger number of schools each However the number of students at each Adventist school was low compared to other independent schools 10 The Signs Publishing Company which serves the South Pacific Division is based in Victoria and prints the Signs of the Times magazine There are also two other magazine s printed by the Signs Publishing Company for the church The first is the internal church magazine called The Record The second is a youth focused magazine called The Edge The church also operates the Sydney Adventist Hospital and the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company based in Australia and New Zealand citation needed The Seventh day Adventist church in Australia is a senior member of the Australian Christian Research Association 11 Local Conferences Edit The Canberra National Seventh day Adventist Church The Australian Union Conference website comprises nine smaller subdivisions of local Conferences Greater Sydney Edit The Greater Sydney Conference website covers the city of Sydney and its surrounds in the state of New South Wales North New South Wales Edit The North New South Wales Conference website covers the region of New South Wales north of Sydney Northern Australia Edit The Northern Australia Conference website covers the northern part of the state of Queensland as well as the adjacent Northern Territory South Australia Edit The South Australia Conference covers the state of South Australia South New South Wales Edit The South New South Wales Conference website covers the region of New South Wales south and west of Sydney including the Australian Capital Territory 12 South Queensland Edit The South Queensland Conference website covers the southern part of the state of Queensland Tasmania Edit The Tasmanian Conference website covers the island state of Tasmania Victoria Edit The Victorian Conference website covers the state of Victoria The Adventist church in Victoria is likely best known to the community for its annual production Road to Bethlehem website a dramatic reenactment of events leading up to the birth of Jesus 13 Western Australia Edit The Western Australia Conference website covers the state of Western Australia See also EditSouth Pacific Division of Seventh day Adventists Seventh day Adventist Church Seventh day Adventist Church in Brazil Seventh day Adventist Church in Canada Seventh day Adventist Church in the People s Republic of China Seventh day Adventist Church in Colombia Seventh day Adventist Church in Cuba Seventh day Adventist Church in India Italian Union of Seventh day Adventist Churches Seventh day Adventist Church in Ghana New Zealand Pacific Union Conference of Seventh day Adventists Seventh day Adventist Church in Nigeria Adventism in Norway Romanian Union Conference of Seventh day Adventists Seventh day Adventist Church in Sweden Seventh day Adventist Church in Thailand Seventh day Adventist Church in Tonga Seventh day Adventists in Turks and Caicos IslandsFurther reading EditSeventh day Adventist Encyclopedia Australia esp 135 40 S Ross Goldstone The Angel Said Australia Warburton Victoria Australia Signs 1980 Alwyn Salom ed The Seventh day Adventist Church in Australia Kew Victoria Christian Research Association 2002 publisher s page Brown Reginald K 2005 Beginnings Down Under The Story of the Seventh day Adventist Church in Australia New Zealand and Papua New Guinea Victoria Australia Signs Publishing Company ISBN 0 646 44928 1 Arthur Patrick Christianity and Culture in Colonial Australia Selected Catholic Anglican Wesleyan and Adventist Perspectives 1981 1900 Sydney Fast Books 1993 PhD dissertation Milton Frederick Krause The Seventh Day Adventist Church in Australia 1885 1900 MA Thesis University of Sydney 1969References Edit Adventist Directory Retrieved 01 March 2022 Seventh day Adventist Membership Countries Compared NationMaster Retrieved 3 December 2018 Seventh day Adventist Church South Pacific Australia Archived from the original on 19 July 2011 Retrieved 27 March 2007 Milton Hook Descendants of the Dreamtime The Adventist Mission to the Australian Aborigines Department of Education South Pacific Division Seventh day Adventist Heritage Series as cited by Brown Nathan G Brown Pastor George The Story of the First Aboriginal Adventist Pastor Australia Australian Union Conference 2010 p21 24 and elsewhere ISBN 978 0 646 53284 4 Meaning for the New Millennium The Christian Faith from a Seventh day Adventist Perspective p iii Australian Census 2001 Australian Census 2006 Australian Census 2011 Australian Census 2016 Special Feature Religion and education Australian Bureau of Statistics 27 May 1994 Archived from the original on 17 October 2017 Retrieved 17 October 2017 Adventist pastor Bob Steed was voted its president in 2007 See Record 112 44 17 November 2007 p5 SNSW Conference Church Locations See South New South Wales Conference SNSW Churches Archived from the original on 17 December 2014 Retrieved 12 November 2014 See http www signsofthetimes org au archives 2007 december article1 shtm Archived 18 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine for instanceExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seventh day Adventist churches in Australia Official website Australian Beginnings on the official Adventist website Statistics from AdventistStatistics org A snapshot of the church in Australia by Ken Vogel Record 113 42 1 November 2008 p8 9 Australian Union Conference articles as catalogued in the Seventh day Adventist Periodical Index SDAPI See also Australia articles Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Australian Union Conference of Seventh day Adventists amp oldid 1108784781, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
