By Michael Gryboski, Editor Thursday, July 03, 2025

Adventist World, a magazine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with a circulation of around 1.5 million, has ceased publication, with its final edition released in June.

Merle Poirier, a former Adventist World staff member and current operations manager for Adventist Review, announced the closing of the 20-year-old publication in last month’s edition.

“You hold in your hand the last issue of Adventist World,” she wrote. “Just let that sink in a bit. Even though I’ve known this day was coming, it’s still difficult for me to write, let alone read.”

The Adventist Review, an old denominational publication that was restricted to North America, will take on the role that Adventist World had in distributing stories to the denomination worldwide.

“[W]hen one is a person of faith and a follower of God, while times might be disheartening, we can never remain there long, because we know who is in charge,” wrote Poirier.

“Adventist World’s race may be run, but it has done something that no other publication in our history has accomplished — established a worldwide path.”

In comments emailed to The Christian Post, Poirier said the decision to merge Adventist World and Adventist Review came last year, with the same staff being in place.

Piorier added that the merger is “really the best of both” publications, combining “the breadth of’ Adventist World and “the depth of” the Adventist Review regarding “its content.”

“[Adventist World was] a bit more didactic, concentrating on fundamental beliefs, spiritual encouragement, Bible study, upbuilding faith, and more,” she said. “That does not mean that [Adventist Review] doesn’t have that type of content, but it is written from sometimes a different perspective.”

Gerald A. Klingbeil, who served on the editorial team for the publication from 2009 to 2023, wrote in a piece that the publication had periodic “financial strains” and “very complex logistical challenges" when "producing a magazine in different regions and in distinct languages.”

“I enjoyed working with a dynamic team, and as the first senior editor whose native language wasn’t English, I began to recruit new, younger, and more international authors whose insights, dreams, concerns, and ideas would be a blessing to a magazine printed in nearly two dozen languages reaching all continents,” he wrote.

“Adventist World was a conscious move by the global Adventist Church to go beyond its U.S. roots and embrace the church in Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific region.”

Klingbeil went on to note that he believed the magazine was “a child of its age, during which connections and links became part of larger networks that brought the world closer together.”

“The story of Adventist World is a timely reminder that Jesus’ body is global, connected, caring in solidarity, and embracing all age groups,” he added.

Adventist World was officially launched in September 2005, having been championed by Jan Paulsen, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from 1999 to 2010.

“We think it is critical to the church, to the church’s witness, to the unity of the church that we have a voice that can speak to the whole world church, with the same message to all,” stated Paulsen before the inaugural edition was released.

The initial rollout of the magazine included 1 million copies at an estimated cost of $2.5 million a year. The circulation eventually grew to around 1.5 million copies annually. Initially available in English, French and Spanish, it expanded to include over 20 different languages.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/adventist-world-magazine-closes-merges-with-adventist-review.html