About Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a mainstream Protestant church with approximately 20 million members worldwide, including more than one million members in North America. The Seventh-day Adventist Church seeks to enhance quality of life for people everywhere and to let people know that Jesus is coming again soon.
Adventists believe a Trinity of three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—make up one God. They made salvation possible when Jesus, the Son, came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem and lived a sinless life in accordance with the Father’s will. When Jesus was crucified for the sins of the people of the world and arose from the dead on the third day, victory was won for everyone.
When He returned to heaven following the resurrection, Jesus left the Holy Spirit to serve as our Comforter and Counselor. He promised to return to earth a second time to complete His plan of salvation and take His people to heaven. Adventists are among the believers who look forward to that day.
Adventists believe that God is concerned with the quality of human life, and that everything—the way we live, eat, speak, think, treat each other, and care for the world around us—is part of His plan. Our families, our children, our jobs, our talents, our money, and our time are all important to Him.
Our History
In November, 1957, a group of Seventh-Day Adventists started a Branch Sabbath School that met each week in the Elkton Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Hall. During the first two years that the group met there, they saved $1,000 for the purchase of a lot on which to construct a new Church building. By 1964, the group had grown from 13 members to double that number. On May 17, 1964, having bought a two-acre parcel from Dr. Edgar Kite, the company broke ground for a new Church. Construction began immediately on a new Church to accommodate 150-170 members.
Charter members estimate that 90% of the labor on the Church was donated. The labor of over 50 men, women, and children came to the equivalent of 1,036 eight hour workdays. Timber for the building was cut from the local mountains. Nearly 6,200 board feet were cut in the time period of one Sunday and one evening; and then hauled from the mountain to the building site.
The building was completed at a cost of $39,000 and the first Church Service was held on July 16, 1967. The Church was dedicated on August 19, 1967 with Elkton Mayor Welty Hensley offering opening congratulations. The Elkton Church, at the time of the Dedication, had the distinction of being the only Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Virginia to be Dedicated debt-free.
In August 2018, we celebrate 61 years of being in the Community of Elkton, 59 years since we were made a Company, 54 years since our Groundbreaking in 1964 for our original Church, 51 years of Worshiping in our Present Building, and 6 years since our Groundbreaking for our New Addition.