SDA church (SVG) to change administrative status next week

The Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in St Vincent and the Grenadines will be changing administrative status next week, when a special meeting of delegates convenes, from November 7 to 10.{{more}}

This means that the local church will be responsible for its own governance, will have greater autonomy and will determine its own preferred future.

A release from the local SDA church said a new administration has already been appointed, with Pastor Dermoth Baptiste – President; Pastor Henry Snagg – Secretary; and Adele Clarke – Treasurer.

Directors of the various ministries, together with a board of governance, will complete the election process as the church meets for the historic, inaugural session of the “St Vincent and the Grenadines Mission of Seventh-day Adventists,” under the theme, “Embracing the Promise, Fulfilling the Mission.”

The meetings will commence next Wednesday at the Richland Park church and will conclude on Saturday, November 10, with a convention at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, where the board of governors will be officially installed, followed by an ordination service in which Pastor Sylvan Samuel will be consecrated to full gospel ministry.

Officiating in the meetings will be Dr Israel Leito, President of the church in Inter America and Dr Kern Tobias, President of the church in the Caribbean, along with other church leaders from the Caribbean Union Conference of SDA.

The Seventh-day Adventist church has its presence in the state since 1898 and has approximately 14,000 members who worship in 41 congregations. It operates two secondary and three primary schools, a dental clinic and a Christian book centre. Its mission is “to aggressively communicate kingdom values to everyone within its territory, thus preparing men and women to live in the presence of God.”