In Inter-America, Editors Prepare Articles For The Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists

Editors and church leaders review guidelines for submitting articles that reflects the growth of the church during a Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists workshop held in Miami, Florida, United States, May 1-2, 2019. Photo by Keila Trejo/IAD

May 23, 2019 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens/IAD

Regional editors, project coordinators and church administrators recently met during a special workshop to review, study and update the submission of articles that will highlight the growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America.

The project is part of a global church initiative to update the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists—an official publication and record of the history of the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“Our children deserve an updated resource of our Adventist heritage, and we must do everything in our power so history does not vanish,” said Dr. Dragoslava Santrac, managing editor for the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA).

The first publication of the ESDA was in 1966, then a first revised edition was published in 1976, and later in 1996, said Santrac.  With the vast growth of the world church, special funds have been invested in the project and the plan is to meet article deadlines to be featured on the special online debut of the updated ESDA during the 2020 General Conference session, according to Santrac.

From L-R: Dr. Felix Cortés, IAD regional Spanish editor; Dr. Dragoslava Santrac, managing editor of ESDA; Dr. Myrna Costa, IAD consulting editor; and Dr. Glenn Phillips, regional English editor. Photo by Keila Trejo/IAD

“How did the Adventist Church begin in your country?” said Santrac. “Let the world church be inspired by your [regional church’s] story.” Events, theology, ministry projects, universities, hospitals, and more fall into what can provide historic articles about Inter-America, explained Santrac.

So far Inter-America has 100 completed articles, said Dr. Myrna Costa, IAD consulting editor for the ESDA project. Costa, who is a former vice president of the Inter-American Division, oversees two editors in English and Spanish, Dr. Glenn Phillips and Dr. Felix Cortés, respectively. They have been collecting articles from regional editors and union coordinators since 2016.

The plan is to be able to submit 150 articles approved by ESDA editors by the end of the year, according to Costa.

“We are working on featuring articles of the country, of institutions, of unions, educational and health institutions, topics of interest, distinguished Adventists who have contributed to the work of the church in Inter-America, and much more,” said Costa. “The process is taking some time since all articles must be submitted to ESDA editors in English, which means that original articles that come in Spanish, French and Papiamento need to be translated, revised and vetted regularly.”

Dr. Myrna Costa, Consulting Editor for Inter-America for the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists initiative speaks to editors, coordinators and church administrators on the articles to be submitted by September, during the two-day workshop, May 1-2, 2019. Photo by Keila Trejo/IAD

Writers submit their articles through the union coordinator. Articles are then sent to editors for approval, then to the consultant editors and ESDA editors.

Plans are to have 250 articles completed by next year, but Costa said the project will be a long-term one. “This is an important project that needs continued commitment,” she said.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to dig in and update our own church’s story. Inter-America has grown so much in the past 20 years and it is exciting to be able to have others read and learn about our church,” said Costa.

Since the 1990s, the church in Inter-America has doubled its growth to 3.7 million.

“People wanting to find out more about the Seventh-day Adventist Church will be able to have plenty of information at their fingertips,” Costa said.

Photo by Keila Trejo/IAD

For more information about author materials, guidelines, sample articles and more, visit the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists at adventistarchives.org

To learn about the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America, visit us at interamerica.org