2019-2020 Grant in Aid of Research
Adventist Leaders' Beliefs and Practices about Evangelism and Social Justice Advocacy
Michelet William
As social justice advocacy has become more prominent among Adventist thinkers since the end of the twentieth century, there is a lack of empirical data which answer questions related to contemporary Adventist leaders’ beliefs and practices in relation to social justice advocacy in the context of mission. Concomitantly, there not yet exist an Adventist missiological perspective on social justice advocacy. The absence of a biblical and missiological framework within the Seventh-day Adventist Church to help decide when and how to engage in social justice advocacy may lead the church, particularly our young people, to uninformed and oblivious attitudes and actions that compromise the mission and reputation of the church. The purpose of the study is to develop a missiological framework that integrates social justice advocacy and evangelism in a way that is both biblical and consistent with the Seventh-day Adventist message and mission. The research will address four central questions (1) What are the biblical principles of social justice advocacy? (2) What part has social justice advocacy played in Adventist mission history? (3) What do contemporary Adventist Leaders believe and practice about social justice advocacy? (4) How can social justice advocacy be part of Adventist Mission?