SDA ARTICLES

"Seventh-day" indicates the Church's belief that Sabbath (Saturday) is the seventh day of the week, and God should be especially honoured and worshipped on that day.

"Adventist" indicates the Church's belief that Jesus is coming soon again.

Some people incorrectly abbreviate the Church's name as SDA. In the past, that was an acceptable abbreviation. Today, those initials are not the preferred abbreviation of the Church's name. The single word "Adventist" is the preferred abbreviation for our Church.

Three important reasons why "Adventist" is a better abbreviation for the Church's name:

• "Adventist" conveys one of the central beliefs of the church - that Jesus is coming again soon. The initials SDA do not convey any message.
• The initials SDA can be easily confused with other entities
• The Adventist Church is a worldwide entity communicating the gospel in more than 800 languages. In many of those languages, the initials are different. For example, in Spanish the Church's initials would be IASD. In Japanese and Chinese, the initials are not transferable at all.

For these reasons, the Adventist Church asks that everyone use the single word "Adventist" as the only appropriate abbreviation of our Church's name.

We appreciate your continued concern and writing about the Adventist Church. Thank you for understanding and correcting your usage in future writings about the Adventist Church.

Usage Guidelines

Correct

• Seventh-day Adventist
• Adventist

Incorrect

• Seventh-Day Adventist
• Seventh Day Adventist
• Seventh day Adventist
• SDA

SOURCE = South Pacific Members of the SDA church http://spd.adventist.org.au/about_us/our_organisation/logo_name/whats_an_esdeeay