General History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

World-Wide Revival

The Seventh-day Adventist Church grew out of the world-wide religious revival in the mid-nineteenth century. People of many religious persuasions believed that Bible prophecies indicated that the second coming or advent of Christ was imminent.

A Great Disappointment

When Christ did not come in the 1840s, a group of these disappointed Adventists in the United States continued their Bible studies and concluded that they had misinterpreted prophetic events and that the second coming of Christ was still in the future. This same group of Adventists later accepted the teaching of the seventh-day Sabbath and became known as Seventh-day Adventists. The Church organised formally in 1863 and began its mission to the world. Our friends at TagNet have compiled an excellent collection of pictures and details of the Adventist Pioneers.

Only the Bible

Basing its faith and practice wholly on the Bible, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has developed 28 fundamental beliefs. It is these key beliefs which unify the otherwise very diverse world-wide Seventh-day Adventist Church:

Rapid Growth

The organisational structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has enabled it to keep pace with its rapid growth. A heavy emphasis on medical and missionary work has led to steady growth in the western world and phenomenal growth in the third world. A separate page is available describing the current status of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.