This monograph is derived from a project commissioned by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to investigate the origins, progress, and impacts of the Adventist missionary enterprise since 1900 and to reflect on the meaning of Christian mission in the twenty-first century. Marked by an emphasis on biblical prophecies, a belief in Christ's imminent return, and a new teaching about Sabbath observance, the Adventists saw themselves as God's unique agents to evangelize anywhere and were less likely to work with other Protestant groups or ecumenically minded denominations that were inspired by the social gospel to change the world and rid it of structural ills. The distinctive doctrinal beliefs and lifestyle made Adventism appealing to potential converts—so much so that other Protestants switched church affiliation to join the Adventists in the United States and beyond.
By organizing the nine chapters into two chronological and thematic sections, the authors balance a macro-history of the leadership and structural changes within the Adventist missionary enterprise with a quantitative analysis of the missionary personnel and activities in different temporal and spatial settings. The introduction lays out the analytical framework for studying the institutionalization of Adventist missionary movement, and a comprehensive timeline details the impactful events in this endeavor. Part 1 contextualizes the changing patterns of Adventist missionary activities in two chapters. Chapter 1 reveals a personnel shift in the Adventist mission model from that of sending American appointees abroad from 1901 to World War II to that of recruiting American short-term volunteers and non-US staff members in the missionary workforce since the 1970s. Because the educational and medical ministries were, and still are, the signature foci of the Adventist evangelization, there has been “a tendency to bureaucratization” (61), a topic addressed in chapter 2. While modern schools and hospitals elevated Adventism's social status, cultivating patron-client relationships with ruling elites and satisfying popular needs for empowerment, these institutions were compelled to catch up with latest technologies and became concerned with the profit line. The Shanghai Sanitarium-Hospital in China and the Dar el-Salaam Hospital in Baghdad were the shining success stories in the early twentieth century, but the new Chinese and Iraqi revolutionary regimes nationalized both hospitals and deported all American personnel in the 1950s (59).
The five chapters in part 2 document the bureaucratization of the Adventist missionary enterprise. Chapter 3 shows that the late nineteenth-century Adventists were inspired by other denominations’ missionary activities (89). Yet, the continuous disagreements among church pioneers and the intra-church competitions for limited resources hindered further progress toward overseas mission. Chapter 4 regards the reorganization of the General Conference's mission institution in 1901–1903 as essential for prioritizing resources and strategies to advance international evangelistic outreach. Chapters 5 and 6 explore the influential role that the General Conference's Secretariat played in asserting effective control over missionary activities. A handful of visionary church administrators navigated the decades of war and peace, and transformed Adventism into a global religious movement. Chapter 7 evaluates the diversification of Adventist missionary strategies from the 1970s to the present, including the recruitment of volunteers as short-term missionaries, the pursuit of dialogues with world religions and secularism, the use of religious media, and a rise of missionaries from global South. The conclusion draws on the century-long Adventist mission history to revive the missionary zeal of clergy and laity alike.
Similar to other accounts of Christian missionary organizations, this monograph acknowledges the extraordinary contributions of American Adventist leaders who executed institutional decisions and built top-down infrastructures to promote overseas mission. The globalization of Adventism has benefited from the General Conference's continuous support and the combined efforts of the last century's missionaries and native converts, whose willingness to share the faith with others shaped their role as effective cross-cultural pioneers.
Regardless of the institutional supports, finding a balance between the Adventist corporate culture and human agency is a common methodological challenge. Added to this limitation of a top-down mission-centred approach is a lack of emphasis on the recipients’ perspectives. Native responses to Adventism varied from time to time and from place to place, ranging from admiration and sympathy to suspicion and hostility. One might wish to learn more how the frontline missionaries and native evangelists perceived the top-down strategies of the General Conference in diverse historical, cultural, and political settings, and how the Adventists actually “did” mission in accordance with local concerns and unique circumstances. Like any Christian mission venture, the Adventist missionary story is hardly unidirectional, because the recipients often understood their newfound faith in specific contexts. The missionaries also adjusted and changed in accordance with given circumstances. The making of Adventist communities remains a dynamic process. Today's Adventism has become a kaleidoscope of dynamic and innovative churches that maintain a high level of cultural and material flows between the global North and South. Therefore, the multiple stories of Adventism have to be told both from global and local perspectives. The views of the denomination's global headquarters in North America are only one facet of these stories.
These minor problems notwithstanding, this book is an unparalleled resource, contributing to a thorough understanding of the missionary infrastructure of Seventh-day Adventists. As a reference guide, it is accessible and authoritative, amply illustrated with many photos of famous church leaders and tables in the appendices. To supplement this institutional account, readers would like to consult the online Encyclopaedia of Seventh-day Adventists (https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/) and the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Seventh-day Adventism, edited by Michael W. Campbell, Christie Chui-Shan Chow, David F. Holland, Denis Kaiser, and Nicholas P. Miller.
