Evangelistic

Religious liberty ministry is, first and foremost, evangelistic. We proclaim the true character of God as we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. A loving God gives freedom and doesn’t twist anyone’s arm. Departmental staff maintain a hectic preaching pace, including events advertised to the general public.

Fighting Discrimination

On any given day, an average of three Seventh-day Adventists in the United States lose their jobs for no other crime than seeking to obey God and keep holy the Sabbath day. Among these are our youth and new church members.

Our peacemaking ministry is successful in resolving such conflicts in most cases. When needed, the legal support we provide members has achieved increasingly successful results, with recent six-figure settlements.

However, we must change Federal law to impose a higher legal standard on employers through passage of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. This is the highest legislative priority the Adventist Church has had in a generation.

Aggressively Communicating

We believe that the Adventist Church has a received wisdom that the world needs to hear. So we don’t just preach it in church, we take to the airwaves, Internet and publishing houses — anything to reach people. Here’s a partial list of our efforts:

churchstate.org, our religious liberty website

WrittenInTheHeart.org, emphasizing the Ten Commandments

Freedom’s Ring Radio, now in its eighth year of national broadcast

Public Service Radio spots, sent to thousands of radio stations

Written In The Heart, the brochure, distributed nationally

The Quick Guide, a widely distributed guide to religious liberty

NARLA

The oldest religious liberty organization in the United States, if not the world, defends all peaceful people of faith. The North American Religious Liberty Association, NARLA, lay dormant for a period, but has been reactivated by the Adventist Church to raise the level of individual commitment, participation and activity in support of religious liberty, and to raise needed funds for staffing and programming.

In 2006, the Pacific Union formally organized a NARLA-West chapter, and local leaders lost no time in establishing the first local chapter in Sacramento. Already the largest chapter, the Pacific Union intends to add 1,000 new members each year.

Monitoring Legislation

In 2004, the Church State Council celebrated 40 years of ministry in Sacramento. The Council represents the Pacific Union on legislative matters in the five states of the Pacific Union. It is well-known in the state capitols and well-respected for its expertise in religious liberty.

A Strategic Ministry

We believe prophetic insight imposes an obligation to plan strategically. How? By building bridges of understanding with leaders in government and in the faith community so that our lines of communication are secure when threats to our freedom arise; and by establishing credibility with the Christian community through frequent appearances on talk radio programs.

In anticipation of accusations that Adventists are enemies of law and order, we are providing spiritual leadership on the issue of the Ten Commandments, an issue of significant public attention.

Finally, we are convinced that those seeking to reverse moral and spiritual decline are prone to do so by legislative means unless a genuine revival comes first — a revival of the new covenant experience that transforms the life. In all our preaching and public meetings, we urge the necessity of revival, of a complete surrender and of the danger of seeking to compel people, through legislation, to fulfill their duties to God.