The German Swiss Conference Moves from Observer Status to Full Membership within the Ecumenical Movement and Embraces Rome's Apostles' Creed and the Lausanne Covenant

For decades, Seventh-day Adventists have maintained that their participation in ecumenical circles was limited to that of "observers," carefully distancing themselves from formal membership to avoid compromising their commitment to the distinctive truths of the Three Angels' Messages, particularly the call to "come out of Babylon." Historically, Adventists used to see full involvement in the ecumenical movement-especially with the Catholic Church and Protestant bodies-as incompatible with their prophetic mission. However, in recent years, thanks to the leadership of Ganoune Diop from the General Conference, this historic stance has shifted decisively. We now have an entire conference in Switzerland that has transitioned from passive observers to active members, even officially embracing foundational ecumenical documents such as the Catholic Apostolic Creed and the Lausanne Covenant. This development marks a major, significant theological and institutional change, attempting to align Seventh-day Adventist identity with apostate Christianity in full-fledged partnership.

On April 7, 2025, Marvin Brand, communications director for the German Swiss Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, published an article titled "Joining the Umbrella Organization Freikirchen.ch" and boasted that his local conference had recently received unanimous approval for membership in one of Switzerland's largest ecumenical organizations, representing the Church of Christ, Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists, the Salvation Army, Mennonites, Protestants, and other Evangelical churches. The decision to become a full member came years after maintaining observer status and was attributed by the president of the German Swiss Conference to "positive experiences" with the other churches.

Notice what was expressed by Stephan Sigg, the conference president, in the heartbreaking press release:

• "The Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland (DSV) is a new member of the umbrella organization Freikirchen.ch. The membership was unanimously approved at the umbrella organization's most recent leadership conference on March 21. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland had already been part of the network with observer status since 2019." [1]

• "The decision to become a full member is based on the consistently positive experiences of the past few years. "We greatly value the open exchange and the shared commitment to Jesus Christ and the Bible as God's Word,' says Stephan Sigg, President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in German-speaking Switzerland." [1]

• "Prior to the admission, in-depth discussions were held with representatives of Freikirchen.ch. The Adventist church leadership was asked to provide written reasons for their membership and to comment on theological issues. These included the understanding of the Sabbath, eschatology, the international church structure, the role of Ellen White as a prophet, and the relationship with other Christian churches." [1]

• "A central concern was the shared understanding of unity in diversity. 'For us, mutual appreciation of different religious beliefs is a living expression of Christian community,' said Sigg ... 'We are all the more pleased to now officially be part of the umbrella organization'." [1]

In Switzerland, Adventist leaders are exalting unity, diversity, mutual appreciation, and interfaith dialogue over faithfulness to God's Word. This is creating a serious threat to the church's mission. By prioritizing the ecumenical traditions of Rome over clear biblical truths, the distinctive identity and prophetic call of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are being destroyed. This trend leads to compromise on foundational doctrines such as the Sabbath, the Three Angels' Messages, and the call to come out of Babylon. When the pursuit of unity with the world overshadows the call to proclaim God's end-time message with clarity and conviction, the church loses its prophetic voice. Unity must be grounded in the truth of Scripture, not in a watered-down consensus that erases the line between truth and error.

The German Swiss Conference is proud to be part of and under the umbrella of an organization that embraces both the Apostles' Creed and the Lausanne Covenant. Freikirchen.ch clearly states the following in its mission statement:

• "We recognize the Apostles' Creed and the Lausanne Covenant as a common theological basis." [2]

The Roman Catholic Church embraces the Apostles' Creed as a vital declaration of their faith, particularly emphasizing the phrase "one, holy, Catholic Church" as a reference to its belief in the divine authority of the Church under the leadership of the Pope. This creed supports the Catholic view that salvation is closely tied to unity with Rome and its sacraments. However, Seventh-day Adventists are supposed to reject these claims, especially in light of the prophetic role that the Papal system will play during the final mark of the beast crisis.

Secondly, the Lausanne Covenant is detrimental to the Three Angels' Message because it calls for the creation of an "evangelistic partnership" in which all churches can join together to proclaim the same message. Notice the following statement taken from the Lausanne Covenant, section #8:

• "8. CHURCHES IN EVANGELISTIC PARTNERSHIP - We rejoice that a new missionary era has dawned. The dominant role of Western missions is fast disappearing. God is raising up from the younger churches a great new resource for world evangelization, and is thus demonstrating that the responsibility to evangelize belongs to the whole body of Christ. All churches should therefore be asking God and themselves what they should be doing both to reach their own area and to send missionaries to other parts of the world. A re-evaluation of our missionary responsibility and role should be continuous. Thus a growing partnership of churches will develop and the universal character of Christ's Church will be more clearly exhibited." [3]

What a blasphemous and perverted attempt to annul the most solemn message ever entrusted to mortal men! This movement, in which the German Swiss Conference is now a full member, is trying to alter God's divine word, which commands us to come out of Babylon rather than joining them. Rome supports this ecumenical mission because it will eventually lead us to accept the Catholic Church as the one true church. We cannot afford to deny men and women access to the truth that God has revealed to us. Revelation 14 is the most fearful threat to all those who follow the beast, embrace his image, and receive the mark.

Today, there is a worldwide effort underway calling on everyone to unite. This work is undermining the real Seventh-day Adventist mission and message. Our banner is the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, which is an expression of the Three Angels' Message. This is the foundation on which God's people stand. Our God has entrusted us with the work of announcing to the world the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14:6-12.

We must stand firm in the preaching of this message. But what is happening is that many of our people are trying to dilute God's message with all these ecumenical appeals to ignore biblical truth, ignore sin and apostasy, and instead place an emphasis on common ground. That is why so many no longer emphasize the Three Angels' Message clearly to the world. That is why books like The Great Controversy and the National Sunday Law are rejected because they warn against the very things we are seeking to embrace.

We were told that in the last days, Satan's one-world church movement will be at work, attempting to unify the entire world. In this solemn time of earth's history, we cannot pretend to work for God while actually serving the agenda of the beast and his image, who are planning to implement the mark.

"Satan determines to unite them in one body, and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of Spiritualism ... Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world" (Great Controversy, pp. 588, 589).

Sources

[1] https://adventisten.ch/2025/04/beitritt-zum-dachverband-freikirchen-ch/

[2] https://freikirchen.ch/ueber-uns/leitbild/

[3] https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant#churches-in-evangelistic-partnership

Contact: Andy Roman, Publisher
Address: Advent Messenger, PO Box 96, Dover, OK 73734
Phone: (888) 299-2119
Website: www.adventmessenger.org
Email: adventmessengers@gmail.com

About: Advent Messenger provides news and commentary on current events, top stories, social trends and political and religious events. For more news visit www.adventmessenger.org

This release was published on openPR.