Adventist Church to mark 150th anniversary of its name

Pastor and Mrs. Tom Michalski

The Seventh-day Adventist Church prepares to mark 150 years of the denomination’s name on October 1.

When church pioneers met in 1860 to name their movement, David Hewitt introduced the name “Seventh-day Adventist,” which became the name of the publishing work, and ultimately the church itself. It was in 1860 that pioneers meeting in Battle Creek, Michigan chose the name for a movement that had about 2,500 adherents in Northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Today, that movement has more than 16 million adult baptized members and operates the largest Protestant network of schools and hospitals worldwide.

Regarding the name selection, Adventist Church co-founder Ellen White later wrote, “The name Seventh-day Adventist carries the true features of our faith…”

“Seventh-day” refers to the denomination’s day of worship, taken from the Fourth Commandment in the book of Exodus. “Adventist” refers to the Second Advent of Jesus, or the Second Coming.

“I think the name has been used through the years in a very positive way because its members have decided to make a difference here and now in anticipation of the Second Coming,” said Jim Nix, board chair of Adventist Heritage Ministry, a church corporation that preserves denominational historical sites.

Nix, who is organizing the anniversary commemoration, said he hopes members will spend time on Sabbath, October 2, reflecting what it means to continue the legacy of the name leaders took in 1860. Additionally, he is urging members to consider what difference the name is making in their community.

“I’m afraid that if Adventist churches closed, nobody would notice,” Nix said. Though the name came to describe the church, it was originally chosen for the early movement’s publishing work. In 1860, leaders called a general meeting, which brought together 25 ministers, with church co-founder James White urging the formation of an organization that could legally own a publishing house. Without a legal name, however, it could accomplish little.

David Hewitt, a Battle Creek resident, introduced and formally proposed the name ” Seventh-day Adventist”, which would come to brand not only the publishing work, but the movement itself. Nix says he is proud to belong to the 150-year-old movement.

“You go to a family reunion and you’re all ‘Jones’ or a ‘Smith’ and you feel a sense of pride. We’re all Seventh-day Adventists, and that’s my spiritual family name,” he said.

“This church has done some great things over the past 150 years. Let’s use this anniversary to think about how we can do more,” Nix said.

Here in Moberly Adventists are remembered perhaps the most for having helped start what is known as Moberly Regional Medical Center, now owned and operated by others.

The Adventist church is located at 1400 E. McKinsey with an 8 grade church school with 28 students this term. The pastors, Tom and Melody Michalski, invite all to feel more than welcome each Sabbath day to worship and celebrate more than the name, ‘Seventh-day Adventist’”.

“We worship the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ every day”, he says, “not just on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.”