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Released by:    Colleen Kelly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 29, 1995

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST 56th WORLD CONGRESS OPENS IN UTRECHT-HOLLAND

Utrecht-Holland... Plans for "an aggressive worldwide outreach in the
preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ" will be outlined during the
Seventh-day Adventist World Congress, according to Ralph Thompson,
world secretary of the 8.5-million-member Seventh-day Adventist church,
at a press conference preceding the opening of the Church's 10-day 56th
World Congress here.

Those attending the Congress will hear reports from the church's 13
world divisions, review practices and policies, evaluate trends, plan
mission outreach for the next five years, and determine strategy for
the future.

Bert B. Beach, world director of the Adventists's religious liberty
department, told those at the press conference that Seventh-day
Adventists throughout the world are working with other church groups to
advance the Christian gospel.  He listed some 20 representatives of
other faiths who will be observers of the Adventists' World Congress.

Ralph S. Watts, president of the Adventist Development and Relief
Agency (ADRA), announced that Werelddorp (Global Village) will be
opening tomorrow as well, a life-sized re-recreation of 10 habitats
from the Developing World, set up outside the Jaarbeurs Halls.  "This
is our gift to the Dutch children and to Utrecht," he said.  "Children
will have an opportunity to see how other people live in the world,
experience how they eat and sleep, and relate to one another."  More
than 18,000 Dutch children will visit the exposition during the 10-day
session.

Welcoming the media and the thousands of Europeans believers expected
to come, and world delegates to the Netherlands, Pastor Thompson said
it may be, for many, the first opportunity to attend a world meeting
and see their world Church in action.  More than 10,000 people are
expected to attend during the week, and 30,000 on the weekends.  Many
new believers attending and working for the Session are from Russia and
Eastern European countries. Today, they are enjoying religious freedom
and the opportunity to travel to other countries.

Pastor Thompson stated that the world Church is multi-racial,
multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-national.  "Amid all of our
diversity," he said, "you will see a marvelous unit.  That is why our
session theme, UNITED IN CHRIST, becomes extremely relevant.  During
our Session, of course, we will be laying plans for an aggressive
worldwide outreach in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ."