Andrews Hosts AHSRA Conference

From June 25–28, 2025

The Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association Conference took place from June 25–28 on the campus of Andrews University. (Photo by Darren Heslop)

“Global Issues, Local Impact” was the theme of the 13th annual Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association (AHSRA) Conference hosted at Andrews University from June 25–28, 2025. The association serves as a space for Adventist academics, students and researchers from around the world to discuss and learn about various human-subject research ventures and best practices.

Participants attended the conference virtually via Zoom and in person on the campus of Andrews University. Presenters included Andrews students and faculty members as well as individuals from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Pacific. The association and conference are supported and sponsored by Andrews University; the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research; and the North American Division Department of Archives, Statistics & Research.

“There is perhaps no topic more urgent today than the intersection of community, health, and the gospel,” University President John Wesley Taylor stated. “These themes echo the historic calling of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, whose early pioneers recognized the inseparable link between Christ’s healing ministry and our responsibility to foster wholeness in the communities we serve.”

Following an opening banquet on Thursday evening, presentations continued the next day. On Friday morning, Safary Wa-Mbaleka, research and evaluation manager at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, gave a devotional on Psalms 51:10, instructing those gathered to let God “create in [them] a clean heart,” as they conduct research and look to avoid ethical and moral infractions.

After Wa-Mbaleka’s devotional, keynote speaker Philip Jenkins, professor of history at Baylor University, identified various points in history where natural disasters intersected with religious revivals. The rest of the day featured parallel breakout sessions with research presentations on religious beliefs and behavior, language, leadership, faith, social systems, inclusion, education, finances, trauma and mental health.

The following day featured a devotional by Arceli H. Rosario, president of the Adventist University of the Philippines. The keynote address was delivered by Katia Garcia Reinert, associate director of Adventist Health Ministries, who emphasized the importance of Adventists continuing to do research and encouraging one another through their research efforts. The breakouts that followed covered the topics of evangelism, technology, mental health and Adventist beliefs.

To close the conference, attendees celebrated the Sabbath together by participating in a Sabbath School panel discussion about results from the Global Church Member Survey organized by the General Conference in 2023. This was followed by a sermon by Dwight Nelson, Seventh-day Adventist evangelist and author, and a specially prepared lunch in the commons of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary.

“This gathering affirms our belief that rigorous research—rooted in compassion, ethics, and faith—can contribute to healing, justice, and growth in our communities,” stated Petr Činčala, AHSRA president, associate professor of world mission, and director of the Institute of Church Ministry and the Doctor of Missiology program at Andrews.

“In addition to the plenary presentations, we had about 60 presentations in three break-out rooms over two days, which was the highest number of presentations we’ve ever had,” he said. “Our conference was intentionally made hybrid to accommodate our international colleagues, and I was glad and proud to see presentations from places like Thailand or Australia, where they were presenting after midnight, their time.” Participants included experienced Adventist social science researchers as well as researchers active in the study of Adventists.

Over the past 13 years, AHSRA has seen dramatic growth. Before the association’s formation, only a few researchers were recognized for contributing to sociological studies on behalf of Adventism. Today, AHSRA’s community includes hundreds of researchers, with active chapters in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Činčala shared that the growth is expected to continue, with an AHSRA Oceania chapter currently in development. Attendance at the 2025 AHSRA conference was also encouraging, with an increased number of virtual attendees as well as international participants who visited Michigan before proceeding to Missouri for the 2025 General Conference Session.

In the future, Činčala hopes that AHSRA’s members, in conjunction with the church and its universities, will continue to study social matters of importance to the Adventist denomination. The next AHSRA conference will be held in 2026 at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. To learn more about AHSRA, please visit their website.