From April 29 to May 1, nearly 170 delegates from all Adventist Churches of Austria came together to set the course for the next five years. Administrative tasks were on the agenda, motions from congregations and the Union Committee, reports from the board of directors and department heads, and the elections of those in charge for the next period.
Sabbath program
For the first time, a large part of the delegates met one day earlier and got in the right spirit with a Sabbath spent together. Delegates experienced this day as very blessed and felt how the spiritual atmosphere resonated also into the delegates' meeting. There was a good spirit, the togetherness was appreciative, there was calm, disciplined, and intensive work.
Little change
This Assembly of Delegates will be remembered not only because of the good atmosphere, but also because there was little change. While five years ago there were two new board members, this time Alexander Ott has been asked to serve as Secretary General in the role previously held by Oliver Fichtberger.
A new Secretary General
Alexander Ott grew up in a pastor's family of German origin in Kyrgyzstan. He completed his schooling in Canada and then studied theology in Canada, the USA and Russia. After working as a pastor in Kyrgyzstan for five years, he became a mission leader at the Austrian Union. This task took him through five countries in Central Asia, where he supported church plants and mission projects. From 2012, he worked in the Middle East in the position of coordinator of Adventist mission for the MENA region (21 countries in the Middle East and North Africa). In 2017, he moved to Bogenhofen with his wife, Emmi, and their two sons. He worked for the Institute for World Mission of the General Conference. His task was to build up and supervise a training platform for the training of missionaries. Since September 2022, he has worked as a pastor in Vienna and started to build up a project for Russian-speaking people in the Vienna Adventhaus.
Here is an overview of the leaders of the Austrian Union:
Board of Directors
President: Reinhard Schwab, Secretary General: Alexander Ott, Chief Financial Officer: Stefan Giuliani
Departments
Adventist Private Schools: Markus Pießlinger, Book Evangelism: Alexander Engels, Hope Courses: Markus Krumpschmid, Youth: Brigitte Zachhuber, Communication and Media: Sebastian Wöber, East Region: Oliver Fichtberger (preaching ministry), South Region: Markus Gritschenberger (Mission, Sabbath School), West Region: Felix Metonou (Diakonia, Health);
Ministries
Women: Elida Oncea (incl. pastors' wives), Stewardship: Stefan Giuliani, Music: Heinz Schaidinger;
