With words of affirmation and congratulations, General Conference (GC) president Erton Köhler arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, May 28, as the keynote speaker of the Intercultural Mission Church Planting Summit, which ended May 30.
Köhler arrived with his wife, Adrianne, and Inter-American Division (IAD) president Abner De los Santos and his wife, Leticia.
“Thank you for your commitment to the mission of the church,” he told regional leaders after being welcomed in the VIP Room of Piarco International Airport, outside Port of Spain. “We are here not only to visit the church but to be part of something bigger than the unions, bigger than the country, and bigger than our church: the mission of the church.”
Pressing Forward
Köhler highlighted the role the IAD plays in that mission, sharing that he got excited when he heard regional church leaders talking repeatedly about “multiplication.” With those sentiments he referenced an initiative of the Adventist Church in the IAD, which seeks to have every current local church plant a new congregation by 2030, and that every member may lead one more person to baptism.
He also called leaders and members to keep focused and pressing forward on those topics. “Let’s keep this theme of multiplication, mission, and commitment in everything that we do,” Köhler suggested.
In that regard, he shared about the special place the IAD has in the consciousness of church leaders. “In the General Conference, everybody sees the Inter-American Division as a center of evangelism for the world,” Köhler told regional church leaders. “As we come to a program that [shows] that the whole division is focused on mission and multiplication, I believe the Lord has special blessings prepared for us during these days.”
Finally, Köhler shared his hope. “I hope we can help bless our church and strengthen our commitment to be a church that is grounded in the Bible and is living the mission.”
Greetings From Regional Church Leaders
Before Köhler’s remarks, several regional church leaders lined up to greet the visiting leaders.
“We are really happy to meet you here in Trinidad,” Kern Tobias, president of the Caribbean Union Conference (CUC), told Köhler in his opening remarks. “We were looking forward to your visit.”
Samuel Telemaque, IAD Adventist mission director, explained that the initiative to multiply churches motivated the region to organize the summit. “We want to facilitate this movement of expanding God’s kingdom,” he explained.
For his part, Colwick Wilson, president of the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), where the event took place, also greeted Köhler, thanking him for his visit. “We praise God because you have come,” Wilson told Köhler. “It means a lot to us.”
South Caribbean Conference president Leslie Moses and CUC mission director Clive Dottin also greeted Köhler and the rest of the leaders to the country and to the event, emphasizing the multicultural nature of the country’s population and faiths. “We want to reach them all for Jesus,” Dottin said.
Growing Through Mission
Among the regional church leaders, De los Santos highlighted the meaning of the visit to the country. “It is a special time to be here, because Trinidad and Tobago is an essential part of the Inter-American Division territory,” De los Santos said. “The Inter-American Division would not be the Inter-American Division without Trinidad and Tobago.”
De los Santos added that regional church leaders are “totally convinced that mission is key for the church.” He added, “To fulfill God’s mission is to walk in the center of God’s will.”
He then explained that the goal of the church is “to grow, and to grow through mission.” It is the way, De los Santos added, in which God decided to grow His church across the region, as leaders and members make their best efforts to prepare a people to be ready for Jesus’ second coming.”
De los Santos then addressed Köhler directly.
“We pray that the Lord will use you to inspire our people here,” he said.
Visit to the Adventist Campus
Early on the morning of May 29 the president of the University of the Southern Caribbean, Colwick Wilson, and other school leaders welcomed Köhler, De los Santos, and their wives to the school campus outside Port of Spain.
“To have you here is a blessing for Inter-America,” De los Santos told Köhler as he introduced him to the crowd gathered outside the USC auditorium. “I feel blessed to be here together to worship the Lord, to be trained and inspired in our purpose to fulfill God’s mission. The reason for us to be here is mission. There’s no other reason,” De los Santos emphasized.
De los Santos also celebrated the involvement of young people in the program. “Young people are key in what we do as a church,” he said, as he reminded the audience that Köhler was for years an Adventist youth leader. “And now God is using him to inspire the church around the world.”
Köhler, on his part, said his wife and he were glad to be in Trinidad and Tobago for the first time, and reminded those witnessing their arrival how much church leaders esteem the church in the region. “The General Conference is not the General Conference without the Inter-American Division,” he said.
He also celebrated to see young people involved and representing the church well. “Where we have young people, we have dynamism, creativity, and commitment,” Köhler said. “I am sure that in this territory we have many young people committed to do their best for the Lord. . . . Thank you for your commitment to keep this vision strong.”
