Church professional network reaches 25 partners, 14,000 members

August 24, 2007 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States …. [Ansel Oliver/ANN]

A database connecting Seventh-day Adventist institutions with potential employees and other opportunities has now gained 25 sponsoring partners and crossed the 14,000-member mark.

Launched in 2000, the Adventist Professional's Network (APN) helps Adventist institutions reach professionals with targeted announcements in specific fields of work. Network registration is free for degreed professionals and serves hospitals, schools and church administrative headquarters around the world.

“It's not an employment agency,” said the network's administrator Dr. Humberto Rasi, former education director for the Adventist world church. “This is a bridge between Adventist members seeking to serve the church and Adventist institutions trying to locate those members who have talents to support the church's mission.”

For a fee, institutions can reach registered users by specialty, profession, language and country. The service is available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Some church leaders have found the network helpful, saying it would otherwise be difficult to find a qualified candidate to fill a position in a particular work field or country. Registered users represent 145 countries and more than 40 languages.

The church's Inter-American Division, which includes Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, has used the network to help fill several employment needs since it became a network partner 10 months ago.

“It's very important for us to consider not only those in our area when we have a need, but also to have a spectrum of different people available to work in our institutions,” said Eli Henry, division vice president for human resources.

He also uses the service for education and health care institutions in the division.

“It's steadily growing as the word gets around,” Rasi said. “We have made a promise not to fill your e-mail with anything else. It is strictly for professional communication.”

According to his estimate, the average Adventist professional knows at least five other Adventist professionals in the same field or study.

“Many of those who join APN are not necessarily looking for a job but trying to connect with other professionals in their field,” Rasi said.

For more information for professionals, see the Web site apn.adventist.org.