is it okay to invite a 7th day Adventist to a Christian church camp?

imgoingraw

New member
I think it's perfectly acceptable to invite your friend, just be very upfront about what the camp is about and what they believe. your friend can probably decide for herself if she'll feel comfortable there or not.

is it close enough to home that she could leave before the camp is over if she feels too pressured or persecuted for her beliefs?
 
were both going to be freshman next year, and were both girls.
I've been there for 4 years in a row, and wanted to bring this friend.
I've heard that 7th day Adventist is very similar to christianity, but I'm not sure If it would be okay to bring my 7th day Adventist friend... thanks!
 
Hon... I am sorry that No one told you about Adventists... I go to an Adventist Church and they are the sweetest people I have ever met in my life... Not joking... Here are some basic beliefs.. email me for more info on this...

#1 Adventists believe that Jesus is coming back... (1thes 4:16)(Matthew ch. 24)
#2 Adventists believe in the Seventh Day Sabbath of God...
God made the Seventh Day in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:1) God Blessed the Seventh Day (not the first) and he "Sanctified" read Genesis Chapter 2... This is what it means to "sanctify" something in the Hebrew language. We believe that God has set apart the Seventh Day to be "HOLY" to Him BEFORE THE LAW (2000+ yrs.) God also states that we will worship on the Sabbath in Heaven (Isaiah 66:22, 23)

ָדַשׁ qâdâsh, kaw-dash’; a prim. root; to be (caus. make, pronounce or observe as) clean (cerem. or mor.):— appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy (-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify (-ied one, self), × wholly.

We worship on the Sabbath NOT as a means of getting saved BUT... As a REST from the weekly sin... God states that his commandments are NOT grievous(1John 5:2-4) Jesus worshipped on the Sabbath and Jesus fulfilled ALL of the requirements of the law so that we can too.... We obey ALL Ten Commandments... And people think that is WRONG??? The Bible is very clear about the "Lord's Day" which is mentioned ONE TIME in the Book of Revelation. and Jesus states that HE is "Lord even of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8).
This is the biggest difference between Adventists and other denomonations.. We keep the commandments because Jesus would never change the Sabbath to a Sunday... The Sunday became the "lords day" Sabbath in 362AD during the rule of the Roman emperor Constantine... Before them almost all of the Christians held the Seventh Day... The Sabbath is the biggest blessing... God calls us to "rest" from our Labors...

Look at Jesus as the example... What did Christ do during his death..he....
Died on Friday
Rested on the Sabbath
And Rose on Sunday..
Everything lines up... there is NO shame in following the commandments. Certainly not following the Sabbath which was there BEFORE the Commandments.

#3 WE ARE NOT VEGITARIANS (well not all of us) we believe that God has put certain animals here for food and others for garbage clean up... If someone is pursuaded in their own mind about eating certain foods, than that is their perogative. Many Adventists eat Vegi foods becuase they can cook them SOOOOO good.

#4 We Worship the Lord NOT SATAN... UGHHH! Jesus Christ and the Trinity 3 in 1... enough said???

#5 We believe that God is an ACTIVE miracle maker here on Earth.. He is working miracles ALL the time... I have seen miracles happen.

#6 Adventists believe that we are saved through GRACE NOT WORKS... FAITH=believing in God AND submitting to his will... That is why Paul stated that faith without works is dead.
The reason that we can obey the commandments is because Jesus did...

#7 We believe in the BIBLE AND THE BIBLE ONLY as the rule of authority for the Church and for Doctrine and reproof... NOT the opinions of men.

This should help clarify some things about the Seventh Day Adventists that you might not know.
 
Me and my high school best friend were Baptists and the other two closest to us friends were 7th day Adventist (all of us girls). Me and my friend didnt mind they were Adventists - we considered them as Christians and often went to their sermons and tried not to emphasize on the differences. We were curious what their faith was all about and asked many questions, sometimes argued in a friendly manner but always kept the good tone.

It was not the same with the other two girls. They never came to visit our church. They didnt want to tell us why, until one day, when one of them suddenly ... it slipped away from her. She told us our church was satanic and we are 'sheep going astray'. They didnt want to offend us, thats why they didnt tell us this in the first place. Me and my friend felt a little offended but forgot about it and kept the friendly relationship. So did they.

When contacting with people like 7th day Adventists you should know that they are very strict on keeping their beliefs(10th comandments). They believe that you are not saved for eternity when you only confess your sins and turn to God. They are confident that salvation has to be earned by the way you live each day on this earth. Thats why you have to be careful not to go aside from the right dids.We can say they live in fear of God more than in God's mersy.

By the way, they say they believe only in the Bible, but they have this prophet ...Elena Wait or something... who actually interprets the Bible in interesting ways which are not quite Biblical to me. On their sermons you can hear her quotations on equal terms as the Biblical ones. Bacause of her, they are considered as a sect since they have other sourses of belief exept from the Bible. This doesnt nesessaryly mean they are not Christians or true believers. I hope that some of them will be really saved - they believe in the same Lord like us, just they're different in some ways and only God will judge ALL OF US, what can we say?! But they are strange - be aware, they smile but they are not open since afraid not to lose the right way.

So, my advice. Ofcourse you can always invite your friend to your camp. But if she is a srong believer she will probably first ask her church co-members what they think about it and then she will most likely refuse to come. So, dont worry too much. But if she comes anyway, be prepared that she might find out some of your beliefs are not correct. If she is a good Adventist she will not argue, she would just like to go home. If she is not very clear with her faith yet, she might be happy to come to your camp and have new friends and...who knows, may be just there she might eventually meet with the Lord.

So, invitation is ok. Acception is up to her. If she likes to go home in the middle of the camp, her parents are responsible. Dont be angry with her. Dont feel guilty. Maybe you all will learn something out of this experience :-)

God bless you :-)
 
7th Day Adventist are indeed Christians, and they believe in the Trinity.

As for whether or not it is ok to bring her along. If your church camp is not accepting of others, even of different faiths, then one has to look at the big picture... of tolerance and love. Then ask the question... is this present in my church group?

I for one, am a Christian... a Catholic Christian. We hold retreats several times a year, and all are welcome to join. In fact, we've had Muslims, Buddhists, Athiests, etc... Everyone is welcome to learn. We are not here to shove our faith down anyone's mouth, but if they want to learn about what we believe and why, we are more than happy to share that with them.

God loves even the sinner... so who are we not to love others, even ones of different beliefs.
 
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