Who We Are

Our People
Our Beliefs
Our Mission and Core Values
Local Church History
Seventh-day Adventists History

OUR PEOPLE

The Gainesville Seventh-day Adventist Church is a family-based church with about 200 members.
Our church is pastored by Daniel Graham.
We have a church school with grades 1-12.


OUR BELIEFS

As Seventh-day Adventists we believe in:

GOD
Adventists base their faith in God as revealed through Jesus Christ and as shown through the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

FAITH
Faith means placing complete trust in God, and accepting his offer of salvation. Such trusting faith is fundamental to Adventist beliefs. A living relationship with God is essential to faith.

THE BIBLE
Written down over many years, the Bible presents the essential truth about God. The Holy Spirit inspired human writers to reveal the character of God and how he wishes to save all those who come to him. The Bible explains the nature of God and the way God’s followers will behave as a result of their relationship with him.

THE GOSPEL
The heart of the Adventist message is the gospel, God’s good news of salvation. Through Jesus’ death on the cross human beings may be won back to love and trust God, and accept God’s free gift of eternal life for all those who follow him.

THE CREATION
Creator of the Universe, Christ formed our world in seven days, and created the first man and woman. At the close of his creative work, God gave the Sabbath as a day of celebration and worship.

THE SABBATH
The seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) is given as a reminder of the God who both creates and saves, and is the day God invites all to come and worship him. Jesus observed the seventh-day Sabbath while on earth, and Adventists follow his example in keeping the fourth of the Ten Commandments.

THE SECOND ADVENT
Adventists look forward to the soon return of Jesus Christ as prophesied and as he himself promised, but do not set any date for this glorious event when he comes to take home all who accept him as their Lord.

LIFE AFTER DEATH AND THE FUTURE
Adventists follow Jesus in identifying those who die as sleeping. Those who have trusted God are raised to life when Jesus returns, and look forward to a wonderful future--eternal life in God’s presence.

BAPTISM AND COMMITMENT
Those who choose to accept God’s way for their lives and his offer of eternal life demonstrate their belief through baptism (being immersed in water), following the example of Jesus. Adventists follow lives of commitment to God and his plan for us, which include following his commands as being for our best good.

EDUCATION
The Adventist Church operates one of the largest educational systems in the world, and features Universities such as Loma Linda whose Medical Center is at the forefront of treatments such as the innovative Proton Accelerator for cancer treatment. Through a world-wide network of schools, Adventists seek to better humanity through providing education and vocational training.

COMMUNITY AID
Through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and other programs, the Adventist Church provides practical assistance to those less fortunate, caring for the poor and disadvantaged in many countries of the world, without regard for race, religion or nationality. The Church also operates youth camps, community service projects, family life counseling and other programs to assist those wishing to overcome drug addiction and alcohol or tobacco dependence.

THE COMMUNICATION OF HOPE
Seventh-day Adventists will communicate hope by focusing on the quality of life that is complete in Christ. Communication is a vital aspect of faith, sharing the good news of God and keeping the family of believers in touch through a global system that includes satellite broadcasting, TV, radio, print and the Internet. Visit www.adventist.org.


MISSION AND CORE VALUES

Our Mission:
“The Mission of the Gainesville Seventh-day Adventist Church is to spread the gospel to all the people and to empower them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”

Our Core Values:

Christ: We believe the true meaning of life is to be totally surrendered and dependent on Christ through the constant guidance and renewal of the Holy Spirit. A life committed to bringing honor and glory to Christ our Savior until His soon return.

Love: We strive for an atmosphere in which loving relationships can be created and nurtured. God is love. His love is the power behind our motives and actions.

God’s Word: God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We are committed to the clear and accurate communication and study of God’s Word, in a way that ministers grace and encourages obedience.

Evangelism: We believe in the Great Commission “Go ye into all the World”. We believe in Christ’s method of meeting people in their need, and in the privilege of exploring new avenues to share God’s plan of salvation.

Service: We are called to serve God and each other following the pattern set by Christ . We strive to serve God through encouraging leadership development, community involvement, and ministering through our spiritual gifts.

Worship: We believe that authentic worship is an essential part of the Christian experience. As a family of believers, we worship through heartfelt obedience, service, music, prayer, and praise to honor and glorify our God.

Education: Through education we seek spiritual growth for the formation of a Christ-like character. Employing the principles of true education, the physical, mental, and spiritual faculties will be developed for the service of God and man.

LOCAL CHURCH HISTORY

The history of the Third Angel's message in Gainesville is marked by a humble beginning, reaching back in years to 1887, when in the spring, Elder J. E. Fulton and his wife, Margaret, moved to what is now referred to as Brooker. Under the labors of Elder Fulton and his wife, seven precious souls embraced the Advent Message.

Like many of the early pioneers of this glorious truth, they too held Sabbath School in their homes, and their homes became their school of Bible truth. Later the early group organized a church at Waldo, gaining members won from Gainesville, Island Grove, and Brooker. Member from Gainesville came to church by train;. Others came with bedding on horse and wagon and brought cooked food to last from Friday to Sunday. They came regularly every three months, and those of the faith who could not come wrote letters of greeting to the church. This history bears out of the faithfulness of those early pioneers of the church.

The record tells us that they were the happiest people around these parts. Elder L. H. Crisler was the most regular of the pastors they had. Elder J. N. Loughborough, Elder Hoist, and Elder Smith met with the group many times.

The church building at Waldo was an old cotton gin which was loaned to them by one of the member's father. The gin had three large rooms. The larger room was used for the preaching service, the other rooms serving as lodging quarters and a mess hall. Sometime between 1899 or 1900 this group met for the last time at Waldo. Some who lived at Waldo moved to Gainesville. Two years later, the Gainesville Seventh-day Adventist Church was organized with Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Highsmith, Mrs. Fanny Burton and Mary Beortley as charter members.

The first church of Gainesville was built at NW 6th St. and 14th Ave., about the year 1903. This was the infant church. The record states that it was built by every member soliciting and the young church. Soon the church grew too small and plans were made to build another one. The first church was sold and around the year 1919, the Gainesville members to decided to construct another church home. This second church was located at N. Main and 6th Ave. Brother Will Hayes contributed largely to the building of this church. While the church was being built, the members met at the home of J. G. Harrold. The leader were Brother Hayes and Brother Stevenson.

At this site, Sam Litchfield, a member, recalls that it had a big pot-bellied stove in the back. There was a section blocked off for children for Sabbath School. It had a sand box where the children would pull out figures that the teacher would talk about. He also remembers that Martha Minnick was his Sabbath School teacher. Elizabeth Lynn was the pianist. About 1941, an evangelist meeting was held and several people joined the church. Of those were Arthur Toney, and his mom and dad, Mrs. Johnson and Raymond Pons. Francis Bush was the Pastor. They met at N. Main and 6th Ave. for nearly 30 years when it became inadequate and in the year 1949, Brother Allen, then leader, led out in the sale of the second church. From 1949, the Gainesville members resorted to other places of meeting, using the Moose Lodge on E. University Ave. until December of 1950, then the Odd Fellows Temple until 1953, when the next church was completed. They moved into the building of NW 10th Ave. and 12th St. A church school was established there in 1956.

The church was then moved to its present site in October of 1974. We had Sabbath service in the gym while the children. Brother Stevenson and Leroy Crisler came in at that time to give leadership to children. We moved into the completed sanctuary on May 10, 1980.

In February of 1997 with encouragement from former treasurer, Phil Gano, fund raising chairman, Dr. Art Martin, and former pastor Gordon E. Blandford, the Gainesville Seventh-day Adventist church launched a campaign to pay off their mortgage which was in excess of eighty thousand dollars. The congregation rallied in support of this project. The membership had caught the vision of focusing their time, talents, and monies for evangelism and outreach to the surrounding community. As a result of much sacrificial giving, fund raising, and the overwhelming blessings of the Lord, on January 31st, 1998, Pastor Blandford announced to the congregation that the mortgage was liquidated and the church was completely debt free.

Presently, the church is pastored by Daniel Graham and is working hard to reach the community with the truths found in the Bible. With a growing Bible school, a church school, and over 200 caring members, the Gainesville Seventh-day Adventist church continues to enjoy God's blessings and strive to serve His Great Commission.

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