Twice a year, the leaders of the Inter-European Division (EUD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church gather for what is known as the Executive Committee Meeting. These are the primary governance moments of the division’s calendar, bringing together EUD administration, department directors, institution heads, the presidents and representatives of pastors and lay members of the ten unions that make up the territory — from Portugal and Romania to Germany and Italy. Together, they review the progress of the annual plan, vote on administrative matters, and discern the best ways to advance mission across Europe. The 2026 Mid-Year Meeting took place on May 24–25 at the headquarters of Hope Media Europe in Alsbach, Germany — itself a fitting symbol of the media and mission focus that marked the two days.
A Vision Beyond the Tunnel
EUD President Barna Magyarosi opened the meeting with a devotional that set the spiritual tone for everything that followed. Drawing on Scripture, he challenged leaders to move beyond tunnel vision — a narrow, inward-looking perspective — and instead embrace a heavenly vision: seeing the people around them as candidates for God’s love and salvation. It was a call to lead not merely as administrators but as missionaries, keeping the ultimate purpose of every decision in clear sight.
A spirit of gratitude for the blessings received and a plea for God’s presence in all decisions was evident throughout the meetings and in every moment of the gathering. During the group prayers, participantsrepeatedly emphasised a sense of responsibility and joy in the mission.
Faithful Members, Faithful Resources
Treasurer Norbert Zens presented an encouraging financial report, sharing news of increased results in both tithes and offerings across the division’s territory. Zens expressed gratitude to God for the faithfulness of church members and gave the Executive Committee the assurance that every resource entrusted to the division would be managed with prayer and intention — directed, always, toward mission.
A New Strategic Framework: “I Will Seek Your Good”
Executive Secretary Rúben Abreu introduced the EUD’s new strategic plan for the quinquennium, voted at the Annual Council last November. Titled “I Will Seek Your Good” — drawn from Psalm 122:9 and anchored in Jeremiah 29:7’s call to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city” — the plan is the EUD’s contextualised expression of the World Church’s “I Will Go” strategic framework. It is built around four focus areas: Communion with God, calling members to renew personal and family spiritual rhythms; Identity in Christ, rooting community life and daily conduct in Christ’s character; Unity through the Holy Spirit, building a culture of belonging and reconciliation; and Mission for All, equipping every believer to live mission as a way of life, from personal witness to contextualised church planting. The plan is designed to be both aspirational and practical, offering objectives and goals that each union and local field can adapt to its own reality.
OneVoice27: The Church United for the World
The most significant highlight of the meeting was a dedicated presentation on OneVoice27: Mission for All, the worldwide evangelistic initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Four voices joined to introduce it: EUD President Barna Magyarosi, Executive Secretary Rúben Abreu, Hope Media Europe President Klaus Popa, and Vyacheslav Demyan, President of Hope Channel International and the General Conference’s representative for OneVoice27 to the EUD.
OneVoice27 is a coordinated global effort reaching its climax in September 2027 — the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of His ministry. The initiative calls the entire worldwide church to proclaim the gospel “to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” through a unified, Christ-centred message, combining the reach of mass media with the relational depth of local congregations. The goal is that interest sparked digitally and on air would lead to Bible studies, discipleship pathways, and, ultimately, church membership — a movement, not maintenance.
From the EUD’s perspective, this is an extraordinary opportunity for the Church in Europe to step into a shared, global mission moment. The initiative is being fully integrated into the EUD’s Digital Strategy for Mission, centred on hybrid evangelism — a model that brings together digital outreach and physical community engagement. To give concrete shape to this commitment, the Executive Committee established two working structures: an Oversight Committee, responsible for supporting and financing field initiatives across the EUD territory; and a Project Committee, focused on the collaborative creation of contextualised content, developed in partnership by EUD media institutions.
Honouring a Faithful Servant
The meeting also paused to honour Prof. Dr. Roland E. Fischer, Rector of Friedensau Adventist University, upon his recent retirement. Born September 30, 1960, in Bayreuth, Germany, Fischer dedicated over four decades of life to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He completed his theology studies at the Marienöhe Theological Seminary in Darmstadt and continued at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he earned a Master of Divinity in 1992. He later completed a doctorate magna cum laude in philosophy from the University of Bayreuth in 2007, defending a dissertation on the role of education in Adventist worship. Ordained in 1988, he served as a youth pastor in Augsburg and Neunkirchen, after which he spent thirteen years as senior pastor in Kassel. Then, from 2005 to 2012, he directed the Institute for Continuing Education of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany. He joined Friedensau Adventist University in 2009 as a lecturer in practical theology and was appointed Rector in 2016, a role he held with distinction through the winter semester of 2026/2027. During his tenure, he led the university through a significant consolidation phase and oversaw the implementation of a new pan-European master’s programme for Adventist pastors, drawing students from seven countries across the continent. The Executive Committee expressed warm gratitude for his long and faithful service to the Church and to theological education in Europe.
Administration as Mission
The meeting closed with a sense of shared purpose and renewed energy. What emerged over the two days in Alsbach was a clear conviction: that administration, at its best, is not a bureaucratic necessity but a missionary discipline. When it is organised, coordinated, contextualised, and collaborative, it becomes one of the most powerful tools the Church has to push mission forward. These leaders left not only with decisions made and plans endorsed, but with a deeper sense of why all of it matters.
The Inter-European Division oversees the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 20 countries across Central, Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, with headquarters in Berne, Switzerland
