Literature Evangelists Celebrate 175 Years of Ministry at South Pacific Summit

More than 70 people from Australia and New Zealand celebrated 175 years of Seventh-day Adventist literature at the 2024 Literature Evangelism (LE) Summit. Held at Lyrebird Park in Yellingbo, Victoria, Australia, October 1-6, the event included inspiring presentations, a service recognition night, a live Sabbath Singalong by Sandra Entermann, and shared stories of faith.

“In 2024, we celebrate 175 years since the printing of the first Adventist publication,” said Almir Marroni, publishing department director at the church’s General Conference and one of the key speakers at the summit. He acknowledged the importance of literature evangelists in his presentation, observing that “books do not walk, nor do they reach the hands of readers without the participation of a messenger.”

Brenton Lowe, literature ministry coordinator for Australia and New Zealand, agreed, describing literature evangelism as “an important frontline ministry that provides opportunities to build friendships within the community and share life-changing books and media.”

According to Lowe, the past year has seen notable accomplishments for literature evangelists. “The team has shared more than 90,000 pieces of literature, brought 243 people to church or evangelistic meetings, prayed with more than 3,000 people, [and] started Bible studies with 225 people, [which] led to 17 baptisms. It may be 175 years since the first Adventist publication was printed, but God is still using literature to reach the world for Him today.”
 
Conference leaders and 25 young people also participated in Youth Rush training for emerging leaders. Summit training included specialized sessions on networking, client referrals, and pop-up bookstores.

“I loved seeing so many of our youth engaging with Youth Rush,” said Nicu Dumbrava, personal ministries director for the Adventist Church’s Australian Union Conference. “I felt inspired by their enthusiasm to share their faith in Jesus with others through literature.”
 
Marroni agreed, describing literature evangelists as examples of God’s impact on the world. During one of his presentations, he appealed to the audience to see literature evangelism as not just a job but as a way of life.

Next year’s summit will be held in New Zealand, ministry leaders said.

The Beginnings of Adventist Literature Ministry

At a meeting held in Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States, in November, 1848, Adventist Church co-founder Ellen G. White was given “a view of the proclamation of the sealing message, and of the duty of the brethren to publish the light that was shining upon our pathway.”

She later wrote, “After coming out of vision, I said to my husband: ‘I have a message for you. You must begin to print a little paper and send it out to the people. Let it be small at first; but as the people read, they will send you means with which to print, and it will be a success from the first. From this small beginning it was shown to me to be like streams of light that went clear round the world’ ” (Life Sketches, p. 125).

The following year, the magazine The Present Truth was born, which would eventually become Adventist Review. That publication 175 years ago set in motion the publishing ministries of the church around the world.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventist Record.