A Great Appointment with Adventist Pioneers

Reflecting on Ellen White’s journey to Australia, the Great Appointment 2.0 returned to over 500 screens on Sabbath, October 21. The event was livestreamed from Avondale University in Cooranbong, New South Wales, and featured a drama, interviews, Kahoot quizzes, and a Pathfinder honor.

Most of the viewership was in Australia, with an international presence spanning the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji, and several countries in Europe.

Last year, the heritage drama looked back at the Great Disappointment of 1844 and how that shaped the Seventh-day Adventist movement. Once again written by theology student Hadassah Liebke, the performances followed the stories of early Adventist pioneers in Australia and each pioneer’s great faith.

Hosted by local students Olivia Morton and Megantha Kiruwi, the Great Appointment 2.0 sought to inspire young people watching to share the same faith as the early pioneers, organizers said. The hosts interviewed several Avondale students who shared the impact of Adventism and its heritage in their personal lives and facilitated the Kahoot quizzes based on the scenes from the drama.

Morton, a student at Avondale University, said, “I think what we do at the Great Appointment — through our drama, Kahoots and everything — engages many kids and young people who would probably not engage with our heritage otherwise. Even if they’re joining without intending to learn about Ellen White and our heritage, they’re walking away having learned about it.”

Laela Nauluvula, 16, completed the Pathfinder honor with her club in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. “The Great Appointment was a really good way to learn about the Seventh-day Adventist history in Australia. Watching the drama was fun and presented Ellen White’s timeline in an easy-to-understand way. The Kahoots were a great way to break it up and encourage younger kids to focus for longer,” she said.

Isaac Hayden, 17, tuned in with his Pathfinder club from Manning Valley, New South Wales. “The Great Appointment 2.0 was fantastic!” Hayden said. “I learned a lot about Ellen White and how she started the school at Avondale. I enjoyed the drama very much and the Kahoot was one of the best games I’ve ever played, if not the best.”

The Great Appointment series is an initiative of the South Pacific Division Heritage Department. According to David Jones, director of Adventist Heritage, this year’s program was designed to connect and empower the Church’s young people. “We have a great story to tell and in the busyness of life, we don’t tell our story that gives us our roots,” he said.

Avondale University church lead pastor Norman Hurlow concluded the program by saying, “We are here celebrating Adventist heritage not to romanticize the past, not because we want to glorify the past. We do this because we want to connect you with real people who heard the call of God, responded to it, and championed and lived out that call in their lives.”

The original version of this story was posted on Adventist Record.