“To develop leaders through distinctively Seventh-day Adventist graduate education, excelling in spirituality, scholarship, and service.” This is the mission of AIIAS. To fulfill this mission, AIIAS, our proud and beloved institution, known as the ‘cradle’ of global leadership for missions, hosted a very special annual event known as Mission Emphasis Week (MEW) for several years. This event aims to review our mission through messages and reports from missionaries and to reaffirm the direction in which AIIAS should move for mission.
Last September, the Applied Theology Department of the Seminary once again led the week-long event under the theme, “Brighten the Corner Where You Are.” This theme was chosen to encourage attentive listening to the vibrant voices from each corner of the mission field and to help refocus our mission.
The event was divided into two main parts: evening sessions and the Sabbath program.
Each night at the amphitheater, we welcomed guests who ‘brightened’ their respective corners of the mission field. These are students and faculty of AIIAS, frontline and second-line mission workers from sister institutions, church leaders, and missionaries who take the message to the different online platforms.
The first night featured the Seminary’s Bohol Mission Team, sharing an inspiring story of God’s guidance and blessings during their evangelism efforts at 20 sites and church construction on the island of Bohol. On the second day, Dr. Abner Dizon, from the Southern-Asia Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists (SSD), reported on mission work among the unreached people groups. His report challenged our assumptions and expanded our understanding of the mission’s reach.
On the third day, we learned about the medical mission from the Adventist Medical Center in Manila, gaining valuable insights on how we can support God’s mission in various ways from wherever we are. The fourth day featured testimonies from the Education Department Student Association of the AIIAS Graduate School, who recounted God’s providence during their mission trip to Thailand. Their story highlighted how God worked through them as they served two schools in Thailand using education as a ministry tool.
On Friday, the 1000 Missionary Movement (1000MM) took charge, with their administrators, staff, and trainees leading the vesper program. Pastor Han’s message, along with the testimonies and heartfelt songs from the missionaries, deeply stirred many hearts for the mission.
On Sabbath morning, the Adventist World Radio Center for Digital Evangelism (AWR-CDE) team from SSD invited the congregation to engage in the world of digital evangelism. The program started with a Bible lesson panel discussion led by the Applied Theology Department faculty and students. During the divine worship service, Pastor Jan Elexiz Z. Mercado, director of AWR-CDE, delivered a powerful message on the importance of online evangelism. The congregation responded with loud amens, many volunteering to get involved in online evangelism to ‘brighten their own corners.’
The highlight of MEW this year was the outreach program on Sabbath afternoon. The ceremony was opened by key individuals namely, AIIAS President, Dr. Ginger Ketting-Weller, Applied Theology Department Chair, Dr. Liang, and program sponsor, Dr. Kim S. Young. More than 50 mission-minded participants dispersed to visit people in need, handing out a pack of daily supplies.
As the MEW concluded with this outreach, “We believe it is not the end but rather the beginning of a renewed effort to brighten the corners where we are and achieve the mission,” said Dr. Jeremy Woo, Applied theology faculty and coordinator of this week-long celebration of mission.
