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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Autumn Stankay photographed Sarah and Megan Defrick in her studio in Greensburg, Pa.

By Tamaria L. Kulemeka

On any given day, girls are bombarded with images and messages portraying how they should look, walk, talk, act and think. Dove’s 2008 report titled Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, uncovers the self-esteem crisis among America’s girls. According to the report, this crisis “pervades every aspect of a girl’s life, including her looks, performance in school and relationships with family and friends.” One statistic highlights that 78 percent of girls with low self-esteem have a difficult time feeling good at school because they already think so poorly of themselves.

Saylis Fuentes, a member of the Fairfax church in Fairfax, Va., has introduced more than 800 people to God. She has made soul-winning her purpose in life. Here are her strategies for soul-winning:

1. Make a prayer list of family members, friends, or coworkers you want to reach.

2. Get to know them on a personal level.

3. Share your light in a Christlike manner.

4. Find the right opportunity to serve their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

5. Invite them to follow Jesus.

Read these articles from the September 2016 Visitor:

Feature: Guiding Girls to God

Editorial: Down Through Generations

Educators Receive Columbia Union Conference Outstanding Educator Awards

Story by WGTS Staff

The inaugural WGTS 91.9 Summer Concert drew a large crowed in the Washington D.C. suburb of Tysons Corner.  More than 4,000 people showed up for the outdoor show with Colton Dixon, a former American Idol contestant.  The show was held on a brand new plaza suspended 43 feet in the air between the Tysons Corner Mall and three large buildings across the street.

“It was an amazing venue for a concert.  While thousands showed up with tickets, many others came just to find out what was happening and ended up staying for the whole event,” says Jerry Woods, WGTS morning show host and promotions director,.

Story by Ricardo Bacchus

Two teachers recently received the Columbia Union Conference Office of Education Outstanding Educator Award: Carla Thrower, the principal of Potomac Conference’s Takoma Academy in Takoma Park, Md.; and Vail Bigelow Mason, 1st and 2nd grade teacher at Chesapeake Conference’s Mt. Aetna Adventist School in Hagerstown, Md.

By presenting this award, the union’s education officials “seek to promote the recognition and appreciation of outstanding educators who have demonstrated consistent excellence,” they say.