At the Lake Region’s eightieth celebration on September 13, the Lake Union Conference administrators honored the work of the regional conference within its territory. The following is a transcript of remarks during the worship service by Elden Ramirez, Lake Union Conference president.
Today we give thanks to our God for 80 years of spirited ministry. Faith in action, faith that organized, and above all, faith that produced fruit.
We gather to praise God and celebrate the vision and courage of those early pioneers in the Lake Region who by God’s grace built a movement that continues to bless lives across this union and beyond. To understand the significance of this special Sabbath celebration and why the regional work became necessary, we must remember the national climate in which our pioneers labored.
After the Civil War the American South created Jim Crow segregation laws and maintained a system of separated but never equal. Between 1865 and 1950, historians have documented roughly 6,500 racial terror lynchings in the United States, including more than 4,000 in the Southern states between 1877 and 1950.
Therefore, evangelizing black communities, especially in the South, was not merely difficult—it was deadly. In this setting God gave one of our Seventh-day Adventist founding leaders, His
servant Ellen G. White, a practical Spirit-guided plan so that the gospel could advance despite the fierce opposition.
In Testimonies for the Church she wrote, “The best thing will be to provide the colored people who accept the truth with places of worship of their own. . . . Let this . . . plan . . . be followed until the Lord shows us a better way” (vol. 9, p. 206). Later she said, “Let white and colored people be labored for and in separate, distinct lines” (p. 209).
Her purpose was not to endorse prejudice or encourage racial segregation, but to
protect believers and open doors for mission in a hostile society. Decades later church leaders faced the reality that the Adventist work among African Americans was still limited by
prejudice.
At the 1944 General Conference Spring Meeting in Chicago, the committee recommended that colored conferences be organized, administered by black officers, and committees to carry the gospel more effectively, through Ellen G. White’s original council focused on the
South.
It was here that the Lake Union (Conference) opened the door for the origin of the regional work. Accepting the call given through Ellen G. White, the Lake Union administration, with the full support of its executive committee, voted to authorize and finance a constituency session and acted in faith to organize a new conference for African American churches within its territory. With that official vote in place, delegates from across the Lake Union gathered at Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chicago on September 26, 1944, and voted the constitution and officers of the body, which began operations at the Lake Region Conference on January 1, 1945.
Today, 80 years later, the Lake Union Conference administration and its executive committee remains steadfast in that same spirit, with gratitude for God’s leading in the past and confidence in his promise for the future.
We reaffirm our commitment to stand beside the Lake Region Conference so that the gospel of Jesus Christ and urgent three angels’ messages of Revelation 14 continue to be proclaimed with power across this vast territory and beyond until every heart has heard the call to worship the Creator and prepare for His soon return. And as we renew our commitment, we can look back and see how God has already honored the faith of those pioneers.
From those humble beginnings he has brought extraordinary growth. Today we have nine regional conferences in the North American Division. And the regional work has produced leaders for the entire world church, including 15 union presidents.
Not only that, among the five presidents that the North American Division (NAD) has ever had, two are African Americans: Charles E. Bradford, who served as president of the Lake Region Conference and later became the founding NAD president, and G. Alexander Bryant, our current NAD president. Numerous union treasurers, including our very own Glynn Scott, union secretaries, departmental directors, vice presidents of the General Conference and North American Division, state conference presidents, secretaries, treasurers, distinguished scholars serving as professors in leading universities, and world church leaders trace their roots to the ministry of the regional system.
Today we praise God and celebrate the pioneers of the Lake Region Conference who, inspired
by the Lake Union’s call and the counsel of Ellen G. White, transformed that guidance
into organization, leadership, evangelism, and growth. We praise God for that structure that, far from dividing the body of Christ, multiplied access to the gospel when access was humanly blocked. As Ellen White said, this approach was a means until “the Lord shows us a better way.” And God has clearly honored the faith and labor of those who have walked that path.
As we mark this milestone today, let us remember that the strength and future of the Lake
Region Conference do not rest on human plans alone. This movement must remain filled with the Holy Spirit. And it is the sacred responsibility of both the conference administration and every member to stay daily connected to the Lord in prayer and dependence on His guidance.
Elden Ramirez, Lake Union Conference President
About the Lake Union Conference and Lake Region
The Lake Union Conference comprises the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. As of June 30, 2024, it had almost 90,000 baptized members worshipping in 501 churches and companies.
The Lake Region Conference supports the work of the Adventist Church focusing on African Americans in that same territory. As of June 30, 2024, it had more than 31,000 baptized members and 102 churches and companies.
The original version of this release was posted on Lake Union Herald.
