Theologians and administrators from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific Division will meet in late January next year to discuss the identity of Adventism to help formulate strategic plans for the next five years.

The Bible Congress, themed "Past, Present, and Future: Who is the Seventh-day Adventist?" is coordinated by Dr Paul Petersen, an Old Testament scholar and Director of Biblical Research for the Adventist Church in the South Pacific. About 120 delegates are expected to attend the event held at Avondale College, the Adventist church’s Cooranbong, New South Wales-based tertiary institution, from January 30 to February 2, 2006.

"One of the purposes of the congress is to identify issues of theological and practical nature in relation to our Adventist identity on order to share a vision for the future," says Dr Petersen. "We hope to further understand the relationship between the core Christian message and the unique Adventist positions and to develop ways to teach and preach this message to the world."

Guest presenters for the Bible Congress will include: Dr. Niels-Erik Andreasen, president of Andrews University in America and Old Testament lecturer; Dr. Gunnar Pedersen, lecturer in systematic theology at Newbold College in England; Dr. Bryan Ball, former president of both the Adventist Church in the South Pacific and Avondale College; Dr. Darius Jankiewicz, theology lecturer at Fulton College; and other Adventist theologians from throughout the South Pacific.

"The Bible Congress will be a springboard where we deal with the biblical and theological foundation for our identity as a church," says Dr Petersen. "The main issues will focus on our identity as Christians, the significance of our distinct doctrinal pillars, and our relation to other Christians." [Editor: Melody Tan for APD]