Traditions
S

Tradition · Protestant

Seventh-day Adventist Church

Followersabout 24.4 millionmembers (end of 2025)How countedFormation of the denomination1863The General Conference was organised at Battle Creek, growing out of the Millerite movement of the 1840s.Read the historyCompare with another tradition

An Adventist church keeping Saturday as the Sabbath.

Relationships with other traditions

How it took shape

Key timeline

View timeline in full
  1. 1844

    The Great Disappointment

    William Miller’s followers expected Christ’s return on 22 October 1844.

  2. 1860

    Name adopted

    Sabbath-keeping Adventists adopt the name Seventh-day Adventist.

  3. 1863

    General Conference

    The church is formally organised.

Classification
Protestant (Adventist). Usually classified as Protestant; the workbook also tags it “Restorationism”.
What this entry covers
A single church. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, organised under its General Conference.
Formation of the denomination
1863. The General Conference was organised at Battle Creek, growing out of the Millerite movement of the 1840s.

Relationships with other traditions

Revival1840s–1863

From the Millerite movement to the Adventist Church

Seventh-day Adventist ChurchBaptist Churches (William Miller was a Baptist)

Revival: A renewal movement inside an existing church that later became, or gave rise to, a separate body.

Adventism grew from the movement led by William Miller, a Baptist,, which expected Christ's return in 1844. After the 'Great Disappointment', Sabbath-keeping Adventists took the name Seventh-day Adventist (1860) and organised the General Conference (1863).
2 sources

Compare Seventh-day Adventist Church and Baptist Churches

Full timeline

  1. 1844

    The Great Disappointment

    William Miller’s followers expected Christ’s return on 22 October 1844.

    Explained below: From the Millerite movement to the Adventist Church

  2. 1860

    Name adopted

    Sabbath-keeping Adventists adopt the name Seventh-day Adventist.

  3. 1863

    General Conference

    The church is formally organised.

    Explained below: From the Millerite movement to the Adventist Church

  • The Sabbath

    Saturday is kept as the biblical Sabbath.
    Source

  • The Second Coming

    Christ’s return is expected soon.
    2 sources

    Fundamental Belief 25 was not re-read in session.

    Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

  • Health

    A holistic health message, often including vegetarianism; Ellen G. White’s writings are highly regarded.
    Source

    The prophetic gift (FB 18) is checked; the health message (FB 22) was not re-read.

    Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Positions used in comparisons

Short, sourced statements that the Atlas compares across traditions. Where a tradition has no single teaching authority, the record says whose statement it follows.

God
One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 'a unity of three coeternal Persons'.
Source
Scripture and authority
Scripture is the supreme, authoritative revelation; Ellen G. White's writings carry prophetic authority but are tested by the Bible.
Source
Sacraments and ordinances
Baptism by immersion after faith and repentance; communion, open to believing Christians, is accompanied by foot-washing.
Source
Day of worship
The seventh day is kept as the Sabbath, from sunset to sunset.
Source

Compare these positions with another tradition

  • Sabbath worship

    Saturday services with Sabbath School; communion is usually accompanied by foot-washing.Not yet sourced

The follower figure

about 24.4 million members (end of 2025)

What is counted
Members on the church’s records
As of
end of 2025
Reported by
General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research
Type
Recorded by the reporting body
Coverage
Worldwide.
This entry is
A single church. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, organised under its General Conference.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church reported 24,372,139 members worldwide at the end of 2025.
Source

Replaces the starting figure. Workbook: 22,000,000 (no source or date).

Figures from different traditions measure different things and must not be added together or ranked against each other.

About the image · Editorial placeholder

Editorial initial. The church’s logo is a registered mark and is not reproduced.

Editorial status

Editorial draft. Built from the starting workbook with editorial corrections and framing. It has not yet been checked against independent sources.

References

  • Workbook linkNot yet checked

    adventist.org

    Link supplied in the source workbook (“Christian Denominations”, row 24). It has not been checked to confirm that it supports every claim in that row.

Original workbook record

Imported unchanged from “Christian Denominations”, row 24. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

Denomination / Tradition
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Broader Tradition
Protestantism / Restorationism
Date Established / Split
1863 AD
Origin / Location
Battle Creek, Michigan, USA
Forming Event / Schism
Millerite Movement
Approx. Practitioners
22,000,000
Broke Away From
Protestant / Millerite Movement
Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine
Observance of Saturday as the Sabbath, belief in the imminent Second Coming of Christ, and holistic health principles.
Reference / Information Link
https://www.adventist.org

Editorial notes on this record

  • Broader Tradition: “Protestantism / Restorationism” — classification as Restorationist is not standard; shown as Protestant (Adventist).

Research sources for this entry

Every relationship, position and figure above cites these. Each links to the Atlas’s single source register, which shows what each source supports and whether it was read.