Joint Trip Stresses Increasing Cooperation Between German Unions

By: C. Mohr, Adventistischer Pressedienst, and Adventist Review

Earlier in May 2019, 54 members of the church leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church from the North German Union Conference (NGUC) and the South German Union Conference (SGUC) undertook a joint training program in the cities of Mainz and Koblenz. The journey served to strengthen the feeling of togetherness and helped to broaden the knowledge of German history regarding the 16th-century Reformation.

“[We want] to get to know each other as an office community and to expand our cooperation,” said NGUC vice president Friedbert Hartmann.

In that context, both administrations decided to take a joint training trip entitled, “Following in the footsteps of Gutenberg, Luther, and the Reformation in Mainz and Koblenz.” The goal of the trip was to learn more about German history regarding the Reformation, organizers said.

During the meals and guided tours through Mainz and Koblenz, participants made the most of the opportunity to get to know each other and to exchange personal information.

For quite some time, church boards and administrative committees of the two German Adventist Church regions have increasingly worked together. Specific church departments, such as community outreach, communication, and education, among others, are already working as one across both regions. Two separate offices still manage other areas such as children ministries, Pathfinders, and youth.

In each of Germany’s federal states, Seventh-day Adventists work as a public corporation. There are around 35,000 baptized Adventist members in Germany, organized in seven conferences and two union conference church regions.

The original version of this story was posted on the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany news site.