For Seventh-day Adventist Church President Ted N. C. Wilson, last week’s pastoral visit to the Middle East was an opportunity to affirm members and see the increasing opportunities they have to serve and help support their communities.
The leader of the world church met with Adventist members in homes and churches in countries that are part of the denomination’s Middle East North Africa Union.
Wilson reported an increase in activities of what Seventh-day Adventists are doing to impact communities in the region.
“The Seventh-day Adventist Church is committed to making a difference and enhancing quality of life in local communities, just as it does in all areas of the world it operates,” Wilson said. “It was inspiring to see the growing number of ways Seventh-day Adventists are serving their neighborhoods and cities in that region.”
The union’s territory is home to approximately 500 million people. It also includes some 220 cities with more than 1 million inhabitants.
Wilson also said local leaders and members continue to find ways of sharing the message of the Bible and helping people learn more about God. “Our brothers and sisters there are doing what they can to let people know that God loves them, and why strengthening their relationship with Him is so important.”
His visit to the region also included a meeting with students and staff at the church’s Middle East University in Beirut, Lebanon. The university last month unveiled a community center to serve its neighbors.
Wilson requested for the world church to pray for the Middle East, “a region with significant challenges but home to people who desire peace,” he said.