Hurley Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Hurley Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Bible-based Christian community dedicated to serving God, sharing the Gospel, and helping others. We take great joy in living according to Christ’s example of love, grace, and mercy. We hope you will join us in worship and discovery of how Jesus wants to give us purpose and joy in living.
Seventh-day because we observe the Sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, as instructed by Christ in scripture. The Sabbath is God’s gift to us – a time for rest and restoration of our connection to God and others. It reminds us of God’s creation and Jesus’ grace.
Adventist because we await the Second Coming (Advent) of Christ. We look forward to Jesus’ promised return, when He will resurrect His saved children and take them to heaven. Though we cannot know exactly when He will come back, we can live in joyful anticipation.
Our History
The history of the Hurley Seventh-day Adventist Church dates back nearly 150 years. In 1871 an early pioneer in Turner County learned of the Adventist faith through study of the Bible and literature. He shared his faith with his neighbors and on November 8, 1874 the first Adventist believers were baptized. This date marks the beginning of church membership in Turner County.
A year later the church was organized, followed by an addition of fourteen new members in 1876. By May of 1876 the little group that began with seven had grown to thirty-two and continued to worship in a sod home.
In the fall of 1877 the decision was made to erect a church building for the fifty-two Seventh-day Adventist members. A piece of land was donated at Swan Lake in Hurley, SD and the church was completed in the spring of 1878.
Ellen G. White and her husband Elder James White visited the new church at Swan Lake in 1879.
In 1884 an addition was added to the Swan Lake church building to accommodate the growing church. During the winter of 1941-1942 the Seventh-day Adventist Church at Swan Lake was move into Hurley to be placed on a donated lot on the south edge of town.
The present day Hurley Seventh-day Adventist Church building was completed in December 1971 and we continue to worship there today. Our church family started almost 150 years ago with one man hosting worship in his sod house and has grown into a beautiful church that is home to over 65 members.
Seventh-day Adventist World Church
We are a mainstream Protestant church with approximately 19 million members worldwide and more than one million members in North America. Our doors are always open to the community and to anyone who wishes to worship in one of our more than 151,000 Seventh-day Adventist congregations around the world.
We are a Bible-based Christian community dedicated to serving God, sharing the Gospel, and helping others.
Seventh-day because we observe the Sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, as instructed by Christ in scripture.
Adventist because we await the Second Coming (Advent) of Christ.
Quick Facts:
- The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been an official denomination since 1863.
- In 2011, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was recognized as the fastest-growing Christian denomination in North America, .
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Membership :
- Worldwide: 19.5 million
- United States and Canada: 1.2 million
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Churches :
- Worldwide: 153,253 congregations
- United States and Canada: 6,257 congregations
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Schools : The world’s second largest integrated network of schools
- Worldwide: 7,792 with 1.8 million students
- United States and Canada: 852 (13 Tertiary Institutions, 111 Secondary Schools, 728 Primary Schools)
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Hospitals : Largest Protestant integrated network of hospitals and clinics worldwide.
- Worldwide: 733 Health care institutions, 31,772 beds/units
- United States and Canada: 65 Hospitals, 28 Nursing and Retirement Homes, 4 Clinics/Dispensaries.
- The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the most racially diverse religious group in the United States according to the . Of adults who identify as Seventh-day Adventist, it found that:
Pew Research Center in its 2014 Religious Landscape Study
- 37% are white
- 32% are black
- 15% are Hispanic
- 8% are Asian
- 8% are another race or mixed race