Who We Are, How We Serve

The Columbia Union Conference coordinates the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s work in the Mid-Atlantic United States, where 150,000 members worship in 860 congregations. We provide administrative support to eight conferences; two healthcare networks; 81 early childhood, elementary and secondary schools; a liberal arts university; a health sciences college; a 49 community services centers; 8 camps; 5 book and health food stores and a radio station.

Mission Values Priorities

We Believe

God is love, power, and splendor—and God is a mystery. His ways are far beyond us, but He still reaches out to us. God is infinite yet intimate, three yet one,
all-knowing yet all-forgiving.

Learn More

Story by Donna Bigler

Washington Adventist University’s Enactus business team earned the title of Regional Champion at this year’s Enactus United States Regional Competition, held March 31 in Washington, D.C. The event is one of six regional competitions held across the United States. 

During the competition – which included teams from Rutgers University, University of New Hampshire, University of Virginia, Elmira College and West Virginia Wesleyan College – the Washington Adventist University (WAU) team was judged on three projects that it worked on this academic year.

Story by Celeste Ryan Blyden

At its March meeting, the Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee voted to move the REACH Columbia Union Evangelism School—currently based in Philadelphia—to Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Takoma Park, Md.

The REACH School opened in 2014 when the union and university teamed up to provide young adults an opportunity to enroll in a yearlong, immersion program that combined a 15-credit classroom curriculum with hands-on ministry experience.

Committee members believe the move to an academic setting is a natural fit that will provide access to the university’s infrastructure and make it more cost-effective.  

Story by Janel Haas Ware

Shenandoah Valley Academy’s (SVA) music ministry combines the power of music and the sacredness in the lives of young people who graduate prepared to serve God with their musical talents. One such student is now orchestra director and strings teacher, Kelly Wiedemann (’03), who shares her testimony:

Attending SVA confirmed my life calling as a music teacher. Singing in Shenandoans, the school choir, and playing violin in the string ensemble was fun! The teachers exposed us to many styles of music, and I gained sincere appreciation for traditional church hymns, contemporary praise music, African-American spirituals, classical symphonies and country hoedowns. Teaching a wide variety of music promotes creativity, cultural awareness, tolerance and respect. 

Interview by V. Michelle Bernard

In Grace Outlet, Kris Eckenroth, lead pastor of the Pennsylvania Conference’s Grace Outlet in Reading, shares lessons learned and the story of Grace Outlet, a church plant that strives to dispense the unmerited favor of God. Read our interview with Eckenroth below:

Visitor: What made you want to start Grace Outlet?

Story by Margaret Attey

Nancy Abu-Bonsrah, member of the Potomac Conference's Washington-Ghanaian church in Spencerville, Md., made history March 17 when she became the first black female neurosurgery resident to be accepted at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Abu-Bonsrah plans to complete her seven years of medical specialization in the same department Dr. Ben Carson, now the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, made medical history.