At the 2024 Spring Council of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, held April 9-10, the General Conference Executive Committee accepted a recommendation from the church’s Ellen G. White Estate Board to establish an Ellen G. White Research Center at Asia-Pacific International University in Muak Lek, Saraburi, Thailand.

Audrey Andersson, a General Conference vice president and chair of the White Estate Board, presented the proposal for the Thailand-based research center. Officers of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) that will oversee the center expressed strong support for the recommendation.  

The Ellen G. White Estate currently provides a worldwide network of 18 research centers and four branch offices. The establishment of the 19th research center holds particular significance, regional leaders said, given the scarcity of such centers in Asia, with only two currently in existence. The initiative represents an effort to make the resources of the Ellen G. White Estate accessible to the churches in Southeast Asia and its neighboring regions.

In comments following the introduction of the proposal, Merlin Burt, director of the White Estate at the General Conference, elucidated the roles and responsibilities of Ellen G. White branch offices and research centers. “I commend SSD’s deep understanding and appreciation for the Spirit of Prophecy. We fervently pray for God’s blessings upon this center as we progress together,” Burt said.

The Executive Committee voted to approve the proposal, and the project is expected to be implemented as soon as specifications are finalized.

The original version of this story appears on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division news site.