[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”9249″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_post_title categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The spirit of Sabbath celebration filled the Philippine International Church as the Adventist University of the Philippines welcomed global church leaders for a special Sabbath worship on November 8, 2025, as the Southern-Asia Pacific Division held its Annual Council.<\/p>\n
A historic moment for the Division, as three executive officers of\u00a0 tthe General Conference (GC) of the Seventh-day Adventists came together\u2014Pastor Erton C. K\u00f6hler, GC president; Pastor Richard McEdwards, GC executive secretary; Pastor Paul Douglas, GC treasurer. Gracing the worship also were Pastor Magdiel P\u00e9rez Schulz, assistant to the president of the GC, and Pastor Robbie Berghan, the newly elected vice president for Global Media and Engagement of Hope Channel International.<\/p>\n
From Tagalog to Bahasa, Burmese to Vietnamese, his words \u201cHappy Sabbath\u201d echoed in the languages of the 11 nations represented by the Southern-Asia Pacific Division.<\/p>\n
Affirming AUP\u2019s Mission and Academic Excellence<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am very impressed with the kindness of people; we really feel like family here,\u201d Pastor K\u00f6hler said. \u201cI\u2019m impressed with the music, the orchestra, and the choir play with their hearts. And I am very impressed by AUP\u2019s academic excellence. Congratulations, Dr. Rosario, for the high level of this institution,\u201d Pastor K\u00f6hler expressed admiration for the spirit and standard of the University. \u201cMay the Lord bless AUP in a very special way and make this institution a light and an agent of mission, not only for the Philippines, not only for the Southern Asia-Pacific Division but also for the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n \n The Movement Born of the Scriptures<\/span><\/p>\n Preaching from Revelation 10, Pastor K\u00f6hler reflected on the prophetic identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a movement \u201cborn with an open Bible in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRevelation 10 is our birth certificate,\u201d he declared. \u201cThis is the chapter where the books of Daniel and Revelation meet, appear together in this chapter. From the beginning, we have been a people grounded in the Bible.\u201d He underscored that the Church did not arise from dispute or division but from Bible study and prophetic understanding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are the people of the Book, the Bible, we are the people of the Bible,\u201d Pastor K\u00f6hler said as he reminded the congregation that the Scripture defines not only the Church\u2019s identity but also its mission.<\/p>\n An Urgent Call for the Mission<\/span><\/p>\n Moving through Revelation 10:6, he emphasized the phrase \u201cthere should be delay no longer,\u201d a divine reminder that the Adventist Movement was raised in the last days with an urgent message. \u201cWe were born with a sense of urgency,\u201d Pastor K\u00f6hler declared. \u201cNo more delay!\u201d He called the worshippers to not wait for better times, for more leaders, nor for financial resources. \u201cOur call is to move forward now with urgency in our hearts, accomplishing the task the Lord has entrusted to us. The best chapters of God\u2019s Church are in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n He reminded the congregation that mission is the remedy for every kind of doubt, disappointment, or discouragement. \u201cThe mission is not what we can do for God, but what God can do through us.\u201d<\/p>\n Grounded in the Bible, Focused on the Mission<\/span><\/p>\n Reaching the appeal of his message, Pastor K\u00f6hler repeated the core theme: \u201cOur goal is to be a church that is grounded in the Bible and focused on the mission. This is who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n He invited every listener to play an active part in fulfilling Revelation 10\u2014to live out their prophetic calling with faith and boldness. He also shared that the message in Revelation 14 is to be preached. \u201cLet us preach with a loud voice. Let us be bold in faith. Let us be bold in courage. Nothing is impossible with the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet us be bold in our projects and in all our initiatives. Let us plan beyond the ordinary. Let us do great things for God and expect great things from God,\u201d Pastor K\u00f6hler stated. He also reminded the congregation that in God\u2019s Church, \u201cmoney follows the mission, not the mission following the money.\u201d<\/p>\n One Voice for the Mission<\/span><\/p>\n In closing, Pastor K\u00f6hler introduced a global evangelistic movement called “One Voice 27”, a global evangelistic movement that will unite Adventist believers in a month of evangelism across all media Platforms in September 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a call for AUP,\u201d he challenged. He called for every student, teacher, and leader to be part of this movement.<\/p>\n \u201cLet us move forward together, grounded in the Bible and focused on the mission,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cWe are called to be God\u2019s voice, not the echo of the culture. Our call is to use everything that we have and everything that we are for the mission of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n Pastor K\u00f6hler charged \u201cto be bold in your faith, your courage, your investments, and your influence for the mission of the Church. May the Lord count on you to be grounded in the Bible and focused on the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n He ended with a powerful challenge: \u201cLet us keep our eyes, our hearts, our energies, and our influence always grounded in the Bible and focus on the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The spirit of Sabbath celebration filled the Philippine International Church as the Adventist University of the Philippines welcomed global church leaders for a special Sabbath worship on November 8, 2025, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-20 10:48:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9073"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9254,"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions\/9254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aup.edu.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}