The

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

in Australia is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (often abbreviated by Australians as "the Union"), a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. As of 30 June 2021, baptised church membership stands at 63,401. Despite its small size, the Australian church has made a significant impact on the worldwide Adventist church.

History

The first Seventh-day Adventist church in Australia was the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church, which formed on 10 January 1886, with 29 members. Ellen White, one of the church's founders, spent nine years ministering to the Australian Adventist community from 1891 to 1900. Outreach to the

Australian Aborigines Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

has occurred since the 1890s. For a representative sample of Adventist theology as taught by Australian lecturers and church leaders see the textbook ''Meaning for the New Millennium: The Christian Faith from a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective''. It is not an "official" statement of belief (the

28 Fundamentals The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

play this role), but rather "constitute how a representative group of Australian teachers explain their beliefs".

Statistics

The number of people who consider themselves Seventh-day Adventists is: * 1911. 6095 * 1922. 13965 * 1947. 17550 * 1961. 31633 * 1971. 41617 * 1981. 47474 * 1991. 48341 * 1996. 52655 * 2001. 53844 * 2006. 55257 * 2011. 63003 * 2016. 62945 The 1996

National Church Life Survey NCLS Research is an Australian organisation that surveys Australian community attitudes and runs studies on churches in Australia every 5 years called National Church Life Surveys. NCLS Research conducts surveys on community spirituality and well-b ...

revealed that of all churches in Australia, Seventh-day Adventists have the highest level of

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed Ch ...

, highest proportion of members with post-graduate degrees, and the highest proportion who regularly contribute financially to their church.

Organisations

The church's main tertiary educational institution is Avondale University College in the Lake Macquarie region in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It offers numerous degrees including nursing, teaching and theology. Despite being one of the smaller churches in Australia, the Seventh-day Adventist church in Australia operates a large number of schools In 1992, the church had the 3rd largest number of faith-based schools (with the Catholic and Anglican churches having a larger number of schools each). However, the number of students at each Adventist school was low compared to other independent schools. The

Signs Publishing Company Signs Publishing Company is a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Warburton, Victoria, Australia. History Three Adventist preachers, Stephen Haskell, John Corliss and Mendel Israel, a printer, Henry Scott, and an experienced door-to-door ...

which serves the South Pacific Division, is based in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and prints the Signs of the Times magazine. There are also two other magazine's printed by the Signs Publishing Company for the church. The first is the internal church magazine called The Record. The second is a youth focused magazine called The Edge. The church also operates the

Sydney Adventist Hospital Sydney Adventist Hospital, commonly known as the San, is a large private hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Fox Valley Road in Wahroonga. Established on 1 January 1903, as a not-for-profit organisation, it was originally named the Sydney ...

and the

Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company The Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company is the trading name of two sister food companies (Australian Health and Nutrition Association Ltd and New Zealand Health Association Ltd). Both are wholly owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. F ...

based in Australia and New Zealand. The Seventh-day Adventist church in Australia is a senior member of the Australian Christian Research Association.

Local Conferences

Canberra National Seventh-day Adventist Church July 2021

The Australian Union Conferenc
(website)
comprises nine smaller subdivisions of "local Conferences".

Greater Sydney

The Greater Sydney Conferenc
(website)
covers the city of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and its surrounds, in the state of

North New South Wales

The North New South Wales Conferenc
(website)
covers the region of New South Wales north of Sydney.

Northern Australia

The Northern Australia Conferenc
(website)
covers the northern part of the state of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

as well as the adjacent

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

South Australia

The South Australia Conference covers the state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

South New South Wales

The South New South Wales Conferenc
(website)
covers the region of New South Wales south and west of Sydney including the Australian Capital Territory.

South Queensland

The South Queensland Conferenc
(website)
covers the southern part of the state of Queensland.

Tasmania

The Tasmanian Conferenc
(website)
covers the island state of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Victoria

The Victorian Conferenc
(website)
covers the state of

. The Adventist church in Victoria is likely best known to the community for its annual production "Road to Bethlehem"
website
, a dramatic reenactment of events leading up to the birth of Jesus.See http://www.signsofthetimes.org.au/archives/2007/december/article1.shtm for instance

Western Australia

The Western Australia Conferenc
(website)
covers the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church in the People's Republic of China The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major Christian denomination with a significant presence in the People's Republic of China with a reported 472,314 members as of June 30, 2020. Many of its pastors in China are women. There are or used to be m ...

* Seventh-day Adventist Church in Colombia * Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba * Seventh-day Adventist Church in India *

Italian Union of Seventh-day Adventist Churches The Italian Union of Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Churches ( it, Unione Italiana delle Chiese Cristiane Avventiste del Settimo Giorno, UICCA), part of the worldwide fellowship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is a Protestant denomination in ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ghana The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major Christian denomination with a significant presence in Ghana with over 356,599 members as of June 30, 2018. The country of Ghana is split into two Unions by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Sub Fields *N ...

New Zealand Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand is formally organised as the New Zealand Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (often abbreviated as NZPUC), a sub-entity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. The me ...

* Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria *

Adventism in Norway Adventist congregations in Norway (Norwegian: ) are a protestant free church in Norway. History Adventism in Norway came from the Pietist revival (Haugean movement) started by Norwegian Lutheran preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge. Evidence suggests th ...

Romanian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists The Romanian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists ( ro, Uniunea de Conferințe a Bisericii Adventiste de Ziua a Șaptea din România) is Romania's seventh-largest religious body, part of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. At the 201 ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sweden The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sweden ( sv, Adventistsamfundet i Sverige) is a small Christian denomination in Sweden with a reported 2,902 members as of June 30, 2020. The first Seventh-day Adventist Church congregation in Sweden was establi ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Thailand The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major Christian denomination with a small presence in Thailand. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Thailand (มูลนิธิคริสตจักรวันเสาร์แห่งประเท ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tonga The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tonga, ( to, Siasi ʻAhofitu) is one of the smaller religious groups in the South Pacific island state of Tonga with a reported 3,853 members as of June 30, 2020,Seventh-day Adventists in Turks and Caicos Islands The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major Christian denomination with a small presence in Turks and Caicos Islands with a reported 3,864 members as of June 30, 2020. History The first Sabbath keepers were discovered in the Turks and Caicos Isl ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.adventist.org.au/
Australian Beginnings
on the official Adventist website
Statistics
fro
AdventistStatistics.org
* "A snapshot of the church in Australia" by Ken Vogel. ''Record'' 113:42 (1 November 2008), p8–9
"Australian Union Conference" articles
as catalogued in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI). See als
"Australia" articles
Christian denominations in Australia History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Protestant denominations established in the 19th century Adventism by country Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oceania