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.

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Image by Anja from Pixabay

“Blessed”: That’s the word that exudes from Adalberto Agosto-Burgos as he describes the past three years of his life.

Adalberto was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where he served as a police officer for 13 years. In 2014, he found himself with a new co-worker: Ken Pitney from Lebanon, Ohio, who had been assigned to work on the island.

The two served together for three years before Ken had to return to his hometown for a family emergency in 2017. Having built a strong friendship, they vowed to stay in touch.

Agê Barros/Unsplash

Editorial by Stephen S. Lee

“Daddy, I have a riddle for you,” my younger son gleefully declared. “What goes up but never comes down?”

Before I could muster a response, he quipped with playful mischief, “Your age.”

If, like me, you resist the inevitability of aging, it might be a subtle sign that you’re already on that journey, as the young eagerly anticipate the swift passage of time.

The 96-year-old elder at my church, a figure I deeply admire, often cautions me with a friendly admonition, “Pastor Lee, don’t you dare grow old.” Despite my sincere attempts to heed his advice, I find the relentless march of time undefeated.

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

For years, Joyce Steele’s family made it a point to worship with her at Allegheny East Conference's Mizpah church in Philadelphia on the Sabbath closest to her birthday. Even after she passed away in 2023, her children wanted to keep the tradition going and, as usual, attended this year on the Sabbath following their mother’s birthday.

The family, who travels from New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania, are committed to keeping the tradition alive as long as they are able to. “We want to honor her memory, as well as thank the Lord for giving her to us,” says Janet Steele, her daughter. “It also provides us with our own sense of comfort.”

Story by Rebecca Ingle

Kettering College has added a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) track to their offerings, with the first cohort starting in January 2024. The MSN degree will have an emphasis on Nursing Leadership and is intended to prepare current nurses for roles in leadership, such as a director of nursing, nurse manager, educator or researcher.

Content in the core curriculum includes leadership, health promotion, organizational behavior, human resources, financial management, evidence-based practice, quality improvement and mentoring.

The goals of the MSN program are aimed at guiding students

- To lead teams in a collaborative, dynamic health care environment.

Editorial by Gary Gibbs

I knew I was listening to an exciting answer to prayer as I heard the speaker describe an inspiring initiative called “Back to the Altar.” I had been earnestly seeking God for strategic initiatives for our conference’s new quinquennium, which began after the constituency session in October 2023.

Our team identified several key ideas we felt God was leading us to as conference staff, and pastors met for prayer and planning. We determined that a renewed focus on a personal relationship with Jesus would be one of the more important initiatives. We long for each member to experience a deepening of love for Him and to grow in the qualities of being Jesus’ fully committed disciple.