The Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has announced “Harvest 2025,” a powerful year-long evangelistic campaign designed to mobilize Adventist communities across the region. It has been voted and launched during the SSD Year-end Meetings in the Life Hope Center in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Spanning 11 nations within the 10/40 window, this initiative aims to bring the gospel message to urban and rural areas, especially in countries where Adventists are fewer and where sharing faith presents unique challenges.
In his send-off message, Pastor Arnel Gabin, Vice President and Director of Nurture, Discipleship, Retention, and Integrated Evangelism Lifestyle for the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, urged delegates to join a unified movement, envisioning each church as a beacon of hope and inspiration within its community. He emphasized that wherever the church is planted, it carries the mission to share the gospel within its sphere of influence, illuminating lives with God’s love and truth.
Pastor Roger Caderma, President of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, inspired the audience with the imagery of ripened wheat, symbolizing the readiness of the world for the gospel while underscoring the need for more laborers to bring in the harvest. Caderma urged church members to serve in the specific capacity that the Lord had given them by reminding leaders of the church's crucial role in empowering members to actively participate in the mission.
A Biblical Call to Action
Harvest 2025 draws its inspiration from biblical teachings on harvest, underscoring the urgency and spiritual readiness emphasized in scriptures like Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” and John 4:35, where Jesus calls His followers to recognize the ripe fields ready for gathering. The initiative seeks to reignite this call, inviting Adventists across all walks of life to become active participants in sharing God’s love and hope.
Goals and Structure
The overarching objective of Harvest 2025 is to empower every Adventist institution, church, and member to actively engage in evangelistic outreach and discipleship, aligning with the Adventist Church’s global “I Will Go” strategy. The campaign is structured into five distinct phases to ensure a seamless, step-by-step approach to preparation, engagement, and retention:
Preparation (January–March 2025): The campaign begins with spiritual groundwork, encouraging members to participate in prayer, fasting, and community engagement. Activities include a 10-day prayer initiative, communion services, and strategic training in care group leadership, personal witnessing, and Bible study facilitation.
Local Church Evangelism (April–May 2025): All local churches are called to host simultaneous evangelistic meetings, with lay members, pastors, and trained volunteers leading sessions. This phase emphasizes collective involvement, aiming for thousands of gatherings across the division.
District Evangelism (June–July 2025): This phase scales up to district-wide evangelistic efforts, with district pastors leading reaping meetings to invite participants to make public decisions for Christ.
Division-Wide Evangelism (August–September 2025): In collaboration with healthcare, educational, and publishing institutions, this phase will see the participation of SSD leaders, union directors, and visiting evangelists. This broader engagement will target strategic communities across SSD territories, amplifying the reach of the initiative.
Final Push and Celebration (October–December 2025): As the culmination of Harvest 2025, all mission officers, directors, and conference support staff will participate in a coordinated reaping effort. Adventists from SSD will participate in shared worship and outreach through an online evangelism initiative under the direction of Pastor Dan Smith. The campaign will conclude with a region-wide praise and thanksgiving celebration, honoring newly baptized members and acknowledging the contributions of workers and volunteers.
Resource Distribution and Training
To support this ambitious effort, SSD is providing each union, conference, and mission with essential resources, including evangelistic sermon series, discipleship guides, and training materials. USB drives containing these resources will be distributed, and the SSD Adventist Media platform will host these files for easy access. The aim is to equip every member with tools for effective outreach and discipleship, fostering a sense of unity and readiness.
Anticipated Impact and Monitoring
Harvest 2025 aims for a historic total of 400,540 baptisms across the Division. In a concerted effort to maintain momentum, SSD will conduct regular reporting and monitoring, with each local church responsible for documenting training sessions, outreach programs, and baptism outcomes. Missions and conferences will compile these reports for their unions, ultimately reaching SSD leadership for a comprehensive assessment.
A Call to Spiritual Awakening
As SSD’s Nurture, Discipleship, and Reclamation (NDR) Committee Chair, Pastor Arnel Gabin, stated, “It’s time to wake up from our collective lethargy and cast aside our unbelief. Let us reap God’s harvest now!” With this renewed vision, SSD calls upon every Adventist to embrace the mission of Harvest 2025, joining hands across all levels of the church organization to bring the message of salvation to every corner of the region.
Harvest 2025 represents a monumental opportunity for SSD members to unite in faith and action, making a lasting impact on millions of lives as they heed the biblical call to harvest, bringing hope and salvation to a waiting world.
Other divisions have answered the call for evangelism by launching their own campaigns. The North American Division initiated Pentecost 2025, an outreach effort aimed at igniting spiritual revival across their territory. The East-Central Africa Division introduced Homecoming 2024, focusing on reconnecting with church members and engaging new believers. Meanwhile, the South Pacific Division recently concluded a sweeping, country-wide evangelistic campaign in Papua New Guinea, which yielded miraculous results, leading hundreds of thousands to baptism and new faith.
Edward Rodriguez
Email: erodriguez@ssd.org