Who We Are, How We Serve

The Columbia Union Conference coordinates the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s work in the Mid-Atlantic United States, where 150,000 members worship in 860 congregations. We provide administrative support to eight conferences; two healthcare networks; 81 early childhood, elementary and secondary schools; a liberal arts university; a health sciences college; a 49 community services centers; 8 camps; 5 book and health food stores and a radio station.

Mission Values Priorities

We Believe

God is love, power, and splendor—and God is a mystery. His ways are far beyond us, but He still reaches out to us. God is infinite yet intimate, three yet one,
all-knowing yet all-forgiving.

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Vienna church and Academy Host Health Fair

Story by Michele Joseph, photos by Elisabeth Zeller

The doctor is in.

In November, doctors, nurses and representatives from the biggest health care organizations in the northern Virginia joined forces for the Vienna Health Fair hosted by Potomac Conference's Vienna church  and Vienna Adventist Academy in Virginia.

Sabbath school classrooms became clinics and the gymnasium transformed into a diagnostic center and medical information hub. Visitors and members received eye exams, blood pressure checks, flu vaccinations and physician consultations and dental screenings all for free.

Spencerville Adventist Academy Hosts a Weekend of Spiritual Renewal

Lucas Chow (’27), William Miongo (’27), Andrew Pozo (’28) and Samuel Joel (’28) pause to pray during the academy’s spiritual retreat.

Story by Lauren Esveld

This year’s spiritual retreat for Spencerville Adventist Academy took place at the restful Mount Aetna Camp and Retreat Center in Hagerstown, Md. Having a spiritual retreat at the beginning of the school year served as a refreshing pause that fostered unity among the students and led to reflection and spiritual growth.

The weekend centered on the powerful theme found in John 13:35: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV).

The Family of Christ

Photo by Παῦλος from Pixabay
By Robert Becay
 
Robert Becay, a newly baptized member from Ohio Conference's Medina church, shares what being part of Christ's family means to him.   
 
Being part of the family of Christ means more than sharing a name or a creed. It is an invitation into a new kind of kinship built not on bloodlines or social status, but on grace, trust and a common journey toward wholeness. In this family, belonging is rooted in the radical idea that every person is seen, cherished and invited to participate in the divine promise of love transforming the ordinary into something holy.
 

Couples Declare Marriage Is ‘Better With You’

Couples Declare Marriage Is ‘Better With You’ , New Jersey Conference, Abdiel del Toro, Esther Cruz, Orlando Cruz, Chesapeake Conference Hispanic Ministries,

Story by Carlos Torres, Family Ministries Director

Themed “Better With You,” the Family Ministries Department held the 2025 Couples’ Retreat this summer, in partnership with Chesapeake Conference’s Hispanic Ministries Department. The gathering brought together 86 couples who were richly blessed by devotionals from Pastor Abdiel del Toro and inspiring seminars led by Esther and Orlando Cruz. Together, they offered spiritual and practical insights for strengthening marriages.