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

Spring Valley Academy welcomes new staff members Allyssa Sharpe, Joel Greve, Nicolás Chaij, Paula Ottinger and Nicole Wortham Starkey.

Story by Spencer Hannah

Joining Ohio Conference's Spring Valley Academy (SVA) this year as the interim principal, I have united with a fantastic group of educators and support staff that form an awesome team. As I have been settling in with this new group, I have pondered a few things about teamwork:

New Hope member Monika Korff (right) provides a medical screening to a Grenadian.

Story by Evan Knott

Twenty-two members from the New Hope church in Fulton, Md., recently embarked on a mission trip to Grenada, aimed at not only providing immediate services but also building ongoing relationships with the local Grenadian community.

In collaboration with the Grenadian Conference, the New Hope team hosted three health fairs, offering locals free medical screenings and consultations. To ensure that every family member could benefit, the team also provided kids’ programming.

Emmanuel Phaeton/Unsplash

Editorial by Marvin C. Brown, III

One of the most important principles found in Scripture is that of God being first.

In Matthew 22:37–39, we read, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (NKJV).

Kettering Health's Dr. Patel and his team

Story by Ben Riggs

 

Get Dr. Akil Patel talking about his kids, and you’ll hear his fatherly pride. He leans forward, grins ear to ear, and has countless pictures on his phone. Get him talking about the human brain, and you’ll hear his child-like wonder. He explains it using his hands, eyes widened behind his thin, black- rimmed glasses, and has stories galore on his mind.

The 37-year-old vascular neurosurgeon knows a thing or two about the three-pound organ between our ears. From residency at the University of Maryland to training at Johns Hopkins and Seattle’s Swedish Neuroscience Institute, he has committed all his brain to understanding ours.