The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the mission of the Adventist educational system are one and the same—to make disciples of Jesus Christ who live as His loving witnesses and proclaim to all people the everlasting gospel. It naturally follows then, that the latter would support the evangelistic endeavors of the former. This was one of the key conclusions at the end of a recent workshop during the launch of a multiyear evangelistic initiative in the South Pacific Division (SPD) in Brisbane, Australia.
On May 1 the facilitator, SPD Education director Elisapesi Manson, shared statistics about the state of teenagers across several regions in the South Pacific and helped participants discuss ways in which Adventist schools can tackle these challenges in a way that improves outcomes and supports the overall mission of the church.
What Numbers Reveal
Despite being “just a relatively small part of Adventist education,” the Adventist Education system in the SPD includes more than 92,000 students and 4,000 teachers for more than 450 K-12 and postsecondary institutions, Manson reported.
Across such a multicultural, multireligious region, there are striking differences between more “Christian” nations, such as Papua New Guinea, and other more developed, secular countries such as Australia. In the latter, 51 percent of teens claim to be Christian, but only 8 percent display the beliefs and habits of a committed Christian, Manson reported. Further, 46 percent of Christian teens in Australia never read the Bible, and 58 percent of Christian teens believe they don’t have a responsibility to share their faith.
Against that background 60 percent of teenagers across the region struggle with depression, and 35 percent say they have suicidal thoughts. Across the world, teens spend an average of about 7.5 hours online every day, and 65 percent of teens say that social media improves their life satisfaction.
Regarding the use of the internet across the countries comprising the South Pacific, depression rates for heavy internet users showed to be 20 percent higher than light internet users. Likewise, suicidal thoughts are 28 percent higher among teenagers. In a world with about 3 billion gamers, it is estimated that approximately 93 percent of children ages 5-14 play video games in New Zealand.
A key question, Manson said, is what Adventist teachers and educational leaders can do against this reality to assist their students and, in turn, support the evangelistic mission of the Adventist Church, especially in the context of SPD for Christ.
A Relevant Parable
Manson based her reflections on a parable told by Jesus—the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15). In it Jesus talked about four different types of surfaces on which seeds may fall—the path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good soil.
She explained that in dealing with students at Adventist schools, the four “grounds” can be found. The hearts of some students are “adamantly closed” to Jesus, uninterested in getting to know Him. The hearts of others don’t “stick with Him” because they are not open enough, and others’ hearts of anxiety “worry about things out of their control.” Finally, there is a group that is open and wants to get to know Jesus, she said.
What to Do
After her introduction Manson called workshop participants to discuss how to prepare the good soil in Adventist schools and institutions in a context with increasing digital access and a secular culture that “reduces the likelihood of teens engaging with organized religion.”
At the same time, she reminded them, high and steady spiritual engagement has shown to “predict higher satisfaction with life and better emotional management.” So the question she raised is What can be done, especially in a context of a major evangelistic initiative that calls everyone to get involved in mission?
One idea, she said, is to make sure that despite all current challenges, schools are better prepared to provide mental health counseling to assist those who are fighting depression, suicidal thoughts, and other issues. “If we do [care for them], we are definitely going to reach more people in that particular audience.”
Next Manson invited attendees to come up with concrete strategies to help Adventist schools become centers of support not only to the educational community but to region-wide evangelistic efforts.
Sharing Strategies
After small group discussions, group leaders reported on various strategies they think could help Adventist institutions to underpin their outreach and evangelistic efforts across the South Pacific.
According to Rail Katio Timothy, from the Vanuatu Mission, when applying the parable of the sower, we have a natural tendency to focus on the “good soil. . . . We tend to neglect the other three,” he shared. “Sometimes we want to expel [those students] from our system, to get rid of them.”
On the contrary, Timothy called for Adventist educators to keep working for those three other types—“to target those three challenging types of heart, committing time and resources” to reach them.
The Role of Teachers and Families
For Freddy Pennington, from the Papua New Guinea Union Mission, teachers are key for a successful rollout of Adventist mission at church schools. “We should have the right teachers, and they must be prepared,” he emphasized. “They need to be people who are ready to go beyond any boundary of the ordinary. . . . And they must be converted themselves in order to cherish those young spirits.”
Jennifer Ongalo, principal of the Prescott Primary Northern School in Adelaide, Australia, agreed, adding that in an educational setting, working with the students’ families is key. She mentioned “organizing social functions that may foster conversations between teachers and parents.”
Ongalo shared that at the Adventist school she leads, 80 percent of students are from the Sikh and Hindu faiths and just 17 percent are Adventist students. In that context, activities for younger kids at the chapel help connect with families, as parents drive the kids to the activity and stay for the program.
Better Tools for Best Outcomes
In closing, Manson reminded Adventist educators of one of their bigger tools at hand. “If we teach the Bible in our schools, we can equip our young people to find answers to their questions in the Bible,” she said.
She mentioned several other tools educators can promote, including a curriculum integration that seeks to connect and transform content to reflect a Christian worldview, incorporation of technology and digital integration, and service learning. “This is what we need to do as teachers, integrating technology and modern tools, supporting focused learning, including community service, and increasing mentorship, which is essential. . . . The key is being intentional,” she said.
Referencing again the parable of the sower, Manson challenged Adventist teachers with final reflection questions. “Which kind of soil will you boldly prepare in Adventist schools? What is hindering you from preparing the good soil? How can you prepare a good soil in schools in the twenty-first century?”
