wfn.org | Adventist World President Offers Encouragement During Baltic

[Christian B. Schäffler (APD Schweiz)]

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May 15, 2005
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief APD
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Schweiz

Baltics: Adventist World President Offers Encouragement During Visit

Kaunas/Lithuania.    "I am happy to be here among you and see you as a
part
of God's worldwide family," declared Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of
the
worldwide protestant mainstream Seventh-day Adventist Church, in his
first
visit to Lithuania part of a two-nation visit to Adventists in the
Baltic
nations of Latvia and Lithuania.

In 1994 Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania returned to the Western European
family of Seventh-day Adventist churches after many years of separation
caused by the Second World War. This was right at the end of Paulsen's
12-year presidency of the Adventist church in that region so he was not
able to visit until now. Pastors Bertil Wiklander, president of the
Trans-European Adventist church, and Valdis Zilgalvis, Baltic area
Adventist church president, accompanied Paulsen during the April 27 to
May 1 visit.

Paulsen met with ministers in the Adventist Church in Kaunas, Lithuania,

where the church's national headquarters are located. Donations from
Adventist members worldwide through a quarterly offering collection
and additional funds from the Trans-European region were used to
purchase
and renovate the building. Paulsen expressed great satisfaction with the

facilities, recognizing how well they now serve the church. Adventist
church membership in Lithuania has grown from 50 in the early 1990s to
about 1,000.

After a meeting with the pastors and a public worship service, Paulsen
took questions from the congregation. These ranged from "What challenges

does our church face in today's world?" to specific issues concerning
ordination. He underlined the need to remain focused on our primary
mission, evangelism. "All church members should participate in the
mission of the church," he said.

During his visit to Riga, the Latvian capital, Pastor Paulsen preached
in three different churches on April 30. About 1,000 people heard
Paulsen
speak at the Latvian church, Russian church, and the new church plant
"Korinta", which successfully operates as a "café church" for
teenagers
and young people.

At the Korinta church plant, Pastor Paulsen shared a brief message
and encouraged the young people to continue to actively build friendship

with others and make Jesus known. In a question and answer session, he
dealt with issues facing young people in the church today, such as
pre-marital sexual relations, divorce and remarriage, unclean food,
worship style, and cultural diversity in the church.

When asked how he feels about his work, he said: "I can honestly say
that I like my work, and I am thankful that God gives me strength. I
cannot say how much I appreciate and value your prayers for me."

"We are very thankful that Pastor Paulsen could visit our [region],"
said Valdis Zilgalvis, Baltic regional church president. "Although we
are a very small region in terms of membership, we are certainly not
small in the terms of complexity. The Baltic church region includes
three different countries and four different language groups, each
one with a very different attitude."

There are more than 7,000 Adventist Christian in worshiping each
week in the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
[Editor: Guntis Bukalders for ANN/APD]