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Seventh-day Adventist Church
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Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-Day Adventist Church logo.svg
Classification Protestant
Orientation Adventist
Polity Modified Presbyterian Polity
Leader Ted N. C. Wilson
Geographical areas Worldwide
Founder Joseph Bates
James White
Ellen G. White
J. N. Andrews
Origin May 21, 1863
Battle Creek, Michigan
Branched from Millerites
Separations Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement (separated 1925);
Shepherds Rod - Davidian SDAs (separated 1929)
Congregations 71,048 churches,
65,553 companies
Members 17,214,683[1]
Ministers 17,272[1]
Hospitals 173[1]
Nursing homes 132[1]
Aid organization Adventist Development and Relief Agency
Primary schools 5,813[1]
Secondary schools 1,823[1]
Tertiary institutions 111[1]
Other name(s) Adventist church, SDA (informal)
Official website http://www.adventist.org/

The Seventh-day Adventist Church[2][3] is a Protestant Christian[4] denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday,[5] the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming (advent) of Jesus Christ. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century and was formally established in 1863.[6] Among its founders was Ellen G. White, whose extensive writings are still held in high regard by the church today.[7]

Much of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church corresponds to Protestant Christian teachings such as the Trinity and the infallibility of Scripture. Distinctive teachings include the unconscious state of the dead and the doctrine of an investigative judgment. The church is also known for its emphasis on diet and health, its holistic understanding of the person, its promotion of religious liberty, and its conservative principles and lifestyle.[8]

The world church is governed by a General Conference, with smaller regions administered by divisions, union conferences and local conferences. It currently has a worldwide baptized membership of about 17.2 million people.[9] As of May 2007, it was the twelfth-largest religious body in the world,[10] and the sixth-largest highly international religious body.[11] It has a missionary presence in over 200 countries and territories and is ethnically and culturally diverse.[1][12] The church operates numerous schools, hospitals and publishing houses worldwide, as well as a humanitarian aid organization known as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).