On January 23 and 24, the Sunnyside Adventist Church in Portland hosted Dr. Michael Campbell for a weekend in their on-going symposium series. Currently serving as Director for Archives, Statistics, and Research at the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists in Columbia, Maryland, Dr. Campbell is a self-proclaimed history-buff and loves to share the rich heritage of the Adventist faith with others. On this particular weekend, attendees were treated to a series of talks on the history and mission of Adventism, beginning with its inception in the 1800s through our present day.

Beginning Friday night, Dr. Campbell led attendees through a journey of the beginnings of the Adventist movement, continuing Sabbath morning with a discussion of Adventism’s activist roots and broad mission-focus, including some surprising details about its early missionaries and leaders! Then on Sabbath afternoon he wrapped the series with a deep dive into the impact of American fundamentalism on Adventist theology and culture–in the past and present!

Along with his colleague, Dr. Edward Martin Allen, Dr. Campbell is the author of the soon-to-be-released book, A Global History of Seventh-day Adventists, which will debut in major book stores on February 12, 2026. “This is the first historic overview of Adventist history in some 30 years,” shared Dr. Campbell when we spoke over breakfast during his visit. “We wanted to create a resource that any random person could pick up that would be a user-friendly guide and could introduce them to Adventism and Adventist history… we also wanted it to be deep enough that the diehard, lifelong Adventist history student could discover new things. There’s new material in there that would be fresh and challenge them. It brings Adventist history all the way to the present day, including things like COVID, January 6th, and the election of Erton Köhler as the new General Conference president. Our editors were very gracious and allowed us to add very recent material because we said, ‘This is really significant. We have someone who isn’t from North America as president of the world church, which really goes with our theme of global Adventism.”

Published by Wm. B. Eardman’s, a religious publishing house based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, A Global History of Seventh-day Adventism dives headlong into many of the changes, controversies, and cultural debates our church has been faced with in the years since its inception, including doctrinal shifts, debates on race and gender issues, creationism and science, Christian Nationalism, education, mission work, institutions and communication technology, self-supported ministries, and much, much more–all with the intention that a reader could understand without an extensive background in Adventist history.

You can watch the archived livestream of Dr. Campbell’s Sabbath morning sermon at Sunnyside Church on their YouTube channel and on February 12, you’ll find copies of A Global History of Seventh-day Adventists wherever books are sold!