Adventist Forums - History

History

The organization originated in the 1960s under the name "Association of Adventist Forums", when more Adventists began to attend non-Adventist universities and colleges. The decade was known for social change and challenging of traditional ideas. They applied the critical thinking learned at those places of study, and which was prevalent at the time, to the Adventist church's beliefs and practices. Many of these graduate students began meeting together with other like-minded individuals for discussion and fellowship. These groups eventually unified to form the Association of Adventist Forums after meeting with church leaders in 1967.

The two officers were Dr. Alvin Kwiram of Cambridge, Massachusetts as president, and Dr. Roy Branson of Andrews University, as secretary. The church endorsed it in 1968 in the Review and Herald (now the Adventist Review), the church's flagship magazine. According to this article, the stated aims and objectives were:

1. To provide an organization which will facilitate fellowship between graduate students in different geographical areas of the United States.
2. To stimulate evangelistic contact through cultural interaction with non-Seventh-day Adventist scholars.
3. To serve as a point of contact between graduate students and the Seventh-day Adventist organization, and to encourage and facilitate the service of these students to the church.
4. To encourage pastoral guidance for Seventh-day Adventist students on non-Seventh-day Adventist campuses.
5. To maintain an organ of communication, wherein Seventh-day Adventist scholars may exchange academic information, thoughts, and opinions.

After meeting with the group the North American Division committee under Neal C. Wilson expressed the following action:

1. That we express our interest in strengthening the relationship of graduate students to the church and our desire to cooperate as far as possible in the development of any means which will serve to make this relationship more meaningful and mutually beneficial.
2. That we express sympathy with the stated aims and objectives of the proposed association.
3. That we express our opinion that presently these objectives can be better served if church leadership were to serve the association in an advisory capacity and at its invitation.

The association is now international, as originally intended.

In 2007 it adopted the name Adventist Forums.