SDB General Conference

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http://www.seventhdaybaptist.org/

Seventh Day Baptists are evangelical Baptists who hold to keeping the seventh day Sabbath of the Bible as sacred time. From our first church in America, founded in Newport, Rhode Island in 1671, until today, Seventh Day Baptists have been a Christ-centered, Bible believing people with traditional family values. We have over seventy churches in North America, and churches in over twenty countries, willing to help you find a church home among our family-oriented people.

General Services

The offices of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference of USA & Canada provide many services for Seventh Day Baptists. The General Services office, through the executive, helps to coordinate the work of the denomination's boards and agencies.
At the Seventh Day Baptist Center in Janesville, Wis., faithful workers provide financial, mailing, and secretarial services for the SDB organizations that are located there. The General Conference also provides office space for all the denominationąs boards and agencies, as well as day-to-day utilities and office equipment.
Word processing, financial recordkeeping, and mailing lists are all done on the Center computer. Membership lists are available for all of our churches.

The Women's Society

The Women's Society of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference is a volunteer organization that encourages our women to strive for their highest potential as Christians. The Society uses workshops, study programs, and service projects to strengthen SDB women and, through them, the entire denomination.
Currently, the Women's Society's major service project is the Summer Christian Service Corps (SCSC). SCSC is a program that places young people in Christian service work for the summer. All of the administration that is necessary to make the program work is carried out by the Society.
Among their other projects, the Women's Society annually recognizes a Seventh Day Baptist woman for outstanding achievement and dedication to Christ and the Church with the Robe of Achievement. The announcement of the recipient is a much-watched-for event at SDB Conference sessions.

The Board of Christian Education

The Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Eduction promotes the cause of education among our churches. Whether it is Sabbath School lessons for the very young or the mature learner, or innovative youth programs, the Board of Christian Education plans and produces study tools for the enrichment of all SDBs.
The Board also plays an important part in planning the annual Pre-Conference Retreats for youth and young adults. During the annual General Conference sessions, the Board of Christian Education sponsors Children's and Youth Conferences for five different age groups.
The Helping Hand and The Sabbath Visitor, two of our Seventh Day Baptist periodicals, are edited by employees of the Board of Christian Education. Through publications, workshops, and retreats, the Board seeks to nurture our people in a life-style that is pleasing to God.

The Council on Ministry

The Seventh Day Baptist Council on Ministry strives to educate and sustain our denomination's pastors.
The Council recruits new leadership for the pastoral ministry and promotes the ministry as a calling. When a young person has decided on the ministry as a career, the Council supports them in their education through counseling, finances, and special courses in Seventh Day Baptist polity, history, and the Sabbath.
For active pastors, the Council provides a biennial pastors' conference and promotes continuing education. The Director of Pastoral Services also provides counseling for pastors and churches, and assists in matching pastors and churches.
Together with the Missionary Society, the Council has responsibility for the Training in Ministry and Extension Project (T.I.M.E.). This project provides training for leaders who are already in ministry, but have not had the opportunity to take advantage of formal education.

Communication Council

The Tract & Communication Council produces informational materials to advance the cause of Christ through Seventh Day Baptist churches. To do this, the Council publishes a variety of pamphlets and tracts for individuals and churches to use. These publications concentrate on the Bible message and the good news of Godąs Sabbath.
One of the major undertakings of the Communication Council is the monthly publication of The Sabbath Recorder magazine. Through this outreach, one of America's oldest continuing periodicals, the Council desires to inspire and inform Seventh Day Baptists in America and around the world.
Another major job of the Council is the publication of materials for other SDB organizations. Currently, all the denominational printing is being coordinated by the Communication Council. As well as being a publishing resource, the Council supplies audio-visual materials, and carries resources used to promote the Sabbath and the Seventh Day Baptist name.

The Missionary Society

Spreading the Gospel in the United States, Canada, and around the world is the goal of the Seventh Day Baptist Missionary Society.
Overseas, the Society helps provide for medical needs in Malawi, Africa. In the U.S., the Society's work can be seen in new church efforts from coast to coast. Even more opportunities for Seventh Day Baptists in the United States are opening. New groups are forming. The Missionary Society provides leadership and resources for the outreach work of Seventh Day Baptists.
In Myanmar, Finland, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Malawi, and the Philippines, the funds and workers of the Missionary Society are ministering. The congregations of the United States and Canada, through their individual members, make up the foundation for our worldwide outreach.

The Memorial Fund

The Seventh Day Baptist Memorial Fund Trustees manage the denomination's invested funds. The Memorial Fund's investment return is used to support local churches in building projects and to assist the boards and agencies with new ventures in service. The trustees also directly manage some of the funds of the boards and agencies. The Seventh Day Baptist Memorial Fund Trustees provide college scholarship funds for SDB young people who have given of themselves in dedicated service.

The Historical Society

The Historical Society is dedicated not only to recording the past, but to revealing its relevance to the present and the future.
Society members maintain a repository for safe-keeping of documents, writings, records, and other material relative to the Sabbath and Sabbathkeeping Baptists; research the roots and history of SDBs; interpret the significance of the past for both present and future; and communicate this through books and other print media.

The World Federation

"Seventh Day Baptist unity in Christ and a vigorous witness throughout the world." That was the broad goal stated by the founders of the SDB World Federation in 1964.
Seventh Day Baptist groups in all parts of the world co-operate in the purposes and programs of the Federation: to provide increased communi-cation among SDB groups; to promote projects of mutual interest; and to stimulate fellowship among Seventh Day Baptist Christians.

Between General Conference sessions, standing committees conduct interim work on matters of special concern.

These include committees on: