At the General Assembly of the Danish Union of Adventist Churches (Syvende Dags Adventistkirken i Denmark), which took place from May 19-23 at the Danish Union youth campsite, Himmerlandsgården, near Jylland in Western Denmark, delegates elected a new church leadership and executive committee for the Danish Adventist Church.

Under the session motto "United in Mutual Care for Each Other" delegates voted for an enlargement of the administrative level, having three officers instead of the regular two, president and secretary-treasurer. They elected Pastor Ole Kendel as their new church union president, Pastor Sven Jensen as new church secretary and re-elected as a full time treasurer Philip Philipsen, the former secretary-treasurer.

The newly elected president, Pastor Kendel, has served as missionary in Sierra Leone; pastor in Denmark; youth director in Western Norway and in the Trans-Europe region; he also acted as president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Pakistan.

Pastor Carl-David Andreasen, who has served as president in Denmark for a total of seven years, decided to return to pastoral work and was not available for re-election for another term. The delegates expressed their warm recognition of his faithful and humble ministry of church leadership in Denmark.

Since 1967, when the Adventist Church in Denmark had 4,047 members, there has been a steady decline in membership down to 2,698 at the end of 2003. According to the Adventist Press Service (APD) this situation reflects the trend among most Christian churches in this Scandinavian country. Until a few years ago, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Denmark faced a situation with aging members and limited growth of new members. In recent years, however, young people have become increasingly involved in the mission of the church, establishing new church plants and initiating new ways of reaching contemporary, secular youth, which has opened up many new contacts and provided growth among those specific target groups. The session underlined the importance of these new initiatives and the need to encourage young people to continue in their efforts.

Some concerns had been raised at the Assembly with regard to the issue of spiritual values in some of these church plants and it has been agreed by the delegates that the way to address these concerns constructively has to be an open dialogue with trust in the leadership of the church, and a careful study of the Bible. A special study weekend is planned to foster a balanced understanding of the biblical teaching concerning spiritual gifts in the Danish Adventist Church.

The Seventh-Day Adventists in Denmark have not been members or observers to any of the two existing ecumenical bodies in Denmark, neither the Ecumenical Council of Denmark (from 1939) nor the Danish Council of Churches (from 1991). In the near future a New Danish Council of Denmark will be founded, with the same number of member-churches as in the existing body. According to APD it might be possible that more churches will apply for membership or an observer status in this new construction of a National Christian Council.

The Danish Union of Adventist Churches is involved in some inter-church relations on local levels, and acts as observer to the organisation, which is responsible for the so-called "Danske Kirkedage" (Danish Church Days). Supporters of the Church Days are more than 50 different religious communities and church organisations in Denmark. The next Danske Kirkedage will be held from June 25 to 27 in Roskilde.