Adventist Record recorded an interview with General Conference (GC) President Pastor Erton Köhler during his recent visit to the South Pacific Division (SPD).
Juliana Muniz (JM): How are you now finding the role of GC president?
Erton Köhler: I consider it a privilege. At the same time, I feel too small for the position. I remember thinking But why me? when my name was presented to the GC session delegates. My family had the same question. It’s not an easy task for us. We need to represent the global Church with so many cultures, realities, perspectives. My main role is not to be president of the Church but to be pastor of the Church because the president is the main pastor of the global Church.
My role is to maintain the identity of the Church; to keep the Church united; to be a voice for all kinds of people; to keep the emphasis on mission. This is a very busy role. Sometimes I ask the Lord for wisdom and strength—everything I need to move forward—and for help to always do, not what I think I need to, but what He expects from me, especially for this time of history we are living in.
I’m always thankful for all of you who are praying for me, my family and our worldwide church family as well.
JM: Can you share your vision for the Church?
Erton Köhler: My priority, and the priority of the Church, is to be a church that is grounded in the Bible and focused on the mission. Resources, projects, initiatives, will be all aligned to that vision.
If we are grounded in the Bible, we’ll always be passionate and focused on the mission, and this is the motivation that we have for everything.
JM: In 2024, you were part of Papua New Guinea (PNG) for Christ. How did you find the experience?
Erton Köhler: It was amazing. I was in Korobosea church, Port Moresby, preaching every day with my poor English. It was an unforgettable experience for many reasons, and [getting a handle on] the language was one of them.
I was very impressed with the kindness of people in PNG. They’re very friendly. They’re very interested in spiritual things. They’re very committed to mission. At the end of the program, I came to the conclusion that although I was there to share something, I received much more than I shared with them during those days.
We travelled to some remote villages in a helicopter. That was an unforgettable situation, because we visited two places that you’d need 17 days or 12 days walking to reach. When we arrived, we saw people preaching PNG for Christ, people being baptised, the church organised, Adventist schools, Pathfinders, Adventurers, everything in very remote villages of PNG.
It showed me how committed the people from PNG are. The Adventist Church is very strong in that country, and I believe we’ve been a very positive influence in that area. We baptised almost 30 people at the end of that campaign, and it was amazing.
I participated in two other baptisms where I saw thousands of people being baptised. This means it was a very well-organised program with fasting, prayer, mobilisation, training and organisation.
But the most important element is that they worked in a very integrated way. You didn’t hear about department A, B or C. All the departments together focused on that campaign. As a result, thousands of people gave their lives to Jesus because the Lord blessed.
It was not only an evangelistic campaign; it was a season of miracles in PNG, in the lives of those who participated.
JM: Do you think that what we saw in PNG can happen elsewhere?
Erton Köhler: Of course. The results, the participation will not be exactly the same, but I believe the principles in PNG can be applied to all other areas of the South Pacific. Number one, spiritual preparation. All countries can do that. Number two, mobilisation of members, training, inspiration, etc. Number three, they can work in an integrated way.
The only aspect every country needs to pay attention to is that you need to share passion for mission with the members, because mission is not something natural. Most of our members have a lot of things to do. They aren’t finding time to share Jesus with others. As church leaders, we need to train, to inspire, to pray, but we need to invite the members—find ways to make them passionate about mission. That will be the secret—the involvement of everybody in [South Pacific for Christ].
JM: You were sharing just last night that God can open doors.
Erton Köhler: I truly believe, and my life is guided by that. Mission is impossible for us, but it’s not impossible for God. Mission is not what we can do for God; it is what God can do through us. And this is why I believe mission is a miracle. And if we do our best for South Pacific for Christ, miracles will happen in all the 19 countries of the South Pacific Division.
JM: From everything you’ve seen in your two visits, what’s your impression of the SPD?
Erton Köhler: Many positive things. The first one is the open hearts of people that I’m seeing here. Of course, I came for a meeting that’s focused on the mission. I expected to hear about mission, but I expected to see people saying, “Okay, you say everything. You tell everything. You show everything, but I will do what I think is the best for me.” But this is not what I’m finding here. I’m finding people looking for more, expecting more and committed to do more, and it’s giving me a lot of hope about the future here.
JM: How have you found the launch of South Pacific for Christ?
Erton Köhler: I have two words to define this meeting. Number one is miracle. What’s happening here is beyond our expectations. Because when you put together all 19 countries and territories, cultures that are totally different, and you can see the same enthusiasm in the hearts of people, this is a miracle for me.
And number two, another element that’s impacting me is that spirit of integration. Integration is a very precious word for me. Everybody working together. And when we think of all the cultures we have, all the different perspectives of church, the world and the mission, I’m seeing that everybody is committed to do the same.
South Pacific for Christ, every year a different union, everybody supporting them. It is bigger than Australia, it’s bigger than New Zealand, it’s bigger than Fiji, the Solomon Islands, PNG. It’s bigger than all of them. They’re coming together, not for their countries, their culture, but for the mission, and I’m very impressed by that.
JM: OneVoice27 was also launched here. What is it? Why is it important? Why should people engage with it?
Erton Köhler: OneVoice27 is a global call for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to use all the medias of the Church for evangelism. Of course, we need to do it every day, but [in September 2027 we] invite everybody to come together—church members, institutions and organisations, social media, YouTube, internet, radio, TV, printed media—for one month talking about Jesus.
Why 2027? In the year 2027 we will celebrate the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ baptism, His anointing and the beginning of His ministry. The best way to celebrate Jesus’ baptism? Preparing other people to accept Jesus and bring their lives to Him. Our celebration will be focused on media and using all the energies and structures and creativity for mission announcing Jesus.
Focusing on Jesus we will look at two biblical books—Daniel and Revelation. Our idea is to announce the Jesus who already came, prophesied in Daniel (chapter 9) and the 70 weeks prophecy, and in Revelation, we can share about the Jesus who will come. And we believe as the Seventh-day Adventist Church that our call is to prepare this world for the second coming of Jesus.
An Ellen White quotation I like, says that we need to reach people where they are, and media can go everywhere. Media can enter closed countries and closed homes, it can reach the young and old. And I believe the Lord is calling us to use the most efficient way to reach the biggest number of people we can, to share with them the love of Jesus, invite them to bring their lives to Him and be prepared for the second coming.
And we encourage every member of the church to dedicate next year to reading Ellen White’s The Desire of Ages. Alongside the Bible, Desire of Ages is an additional book to expand our vision, to inspire us to share Jesus with all our hearts.
JM: How can people watching this serve?
Erton Köhler: If you like to use media, use the gift the Lord gave to you, use your social media accounts to do something for the Lord.
If you like sport, use sports for mission. If you like being a friend of others, use friendship for mission. Each of us needs to find a way to use our gifts, something we love, our hobbies, to share Jesus with others.
OneVoice27 is a call for all. Do everything you can to know Jesus, to read about Jesus, to follow Jesus, to surrender your life to Jesus, but don’t stop there.
Your spiritual life will be happy when you share about Jesus. Those who speak with Jesus also speak of Jesus and this is my call for you, for me, and for each of you who are reading now.
This interview was recorded and published as a recent episode of Record Live. Watch it below:
