Five days after two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck northern Venezuela on June 24, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the East Venezuela Union has confirmed the deaths of five church members as leaders continue assessing the disaster’s impact across the affected territory.
The earthquakes left widespread destruction in Caracas, La Guaira, and surrounding communities, collapsing buildings, trapping residents, and claiming hundreds of lives, with many people still unaccounted for.
“We are deeply saddened by the deaths of our church members and continue to pray for the families grieving the loss of their loved ones,” said Pastor Luis A. Paredes, president of the East Venezuela Union. Quoting Psalm 46:1, Paredes added, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
As assessments continue, church leaders are gaining a clearer picture of the earthquake’s impact on Adventist members and congregations across the affected territory.
At least 21 Adventist families have lost everything they owned, 156 families have sustained damage to their homes, and 175 families are currently living in temporary shelters.
Eleven pastoral families remain unable to return to their homes, while five Adventist churches have also suffered structural damage.
For church leaders, the response has become a race against time—finding members whose whereabouts remain unknown while caring for hundreds already displaced.
Assessing the Human Impact
“Our greatest challenge right now is locating every one of our members,” Paredes said. “At the same time, we are caring for those staying in shelters provided by the church by supplying food, medicine, and other essential needs.”
Despite the devastation, the church has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting affected communities and rebuilding lives, while calling on members throughout the Inter-American Division and around the world to continue praying for pastors, logistics teams, volunteers, and every family affected by the disaster.
In a message shared on social media, Paredes urged church members and the wider community to continue praying for those still trapped beneath collapsed buildings, families mourning loved ones, and thousands left homeless by the disaster. He also appealed for prayers for emergency responders risking their lives in ongoing rescue operations.
“May God give them strength when exhaustion overwhelms them, light when darkness surrounds them, and hope when discouragement threatens to overcome them,” Paredes wrote. “God cares for those who care for others and never abandons His people.”
Relief efforts began almost immediately after the earthquakes. Within the first 24 hours, pastors, church leaders, and volunteers from the Central East Venezuela Conference prepared and distributed more than 700 arepas to displaced families in Caracas. At the same time, collection centers were established at Adventist schools, conference offices, and churches throughout eastern Venezuela to receive food, water, medicine, clothing, and other emergency supplies.
Local church members across the union have continued gathering donations, which are transported first to Caracas and then to La Guaira, where the largest concentration of displaced families remains.
As relief efforts expanded, the East Venezuela Union headquarters in Montalbán received truckloads of clothing, medicines, and bottled water from distribution centers across Caracas on June 26. The supplies were transported to La Guaira later that afternoon, while union office staff prepared and distributed 100 hot lunches in some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
Across the country, churches in the West Venezuela Union also mobilized, organizing donation drives for food, water, clothing, hygiene supplies, and other essential items that are being shipped to the East Venezuela Union to support families affected by the earthquakes.
Relief Response Expands Across Eastern Venezuela
The church’s emergency response has expanded through the dedicated service of rescue teams, medical cadets, health professionals, and hundreds of volunteers assisting in relief operations.
Today, the Adventist Church is serving more than 800 meals every day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to families staying in shelters. In addition, the church’s health ministries department is coordinating care and medications for people living with chronic illnesses whose treatment has been interrupted by the disaster.
As relief operations continue, the Central Venezuela Conference, the Central East Venezuela Conference, and the East Venezuela Union have coordinated the distribution of food, clothing, and other essential supplies.
Paredes expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support received from across the Inter-American Division and beyond.”The Adventist family has shown how beautiful God’s church truly is,” he said. “We have received calls from many parts of the world expressing solidarity, encouragement, and a willingness to help. We are especially grateful to the Inter-American Division for its prayers and spiritual support.”
Faith and Hope Amid Ongoing Challenges
For many church leaders, the emergency has become both a humanitarian mission and a personal sacrifice. Paredes and several members of the union administrative team have remained at the Union headquarters since the disaster began because they cannot safely return to their homes.
“We sleep in the hallways, offices, and lobby of the union building while we continue coordinating relief operations.”
The experience, he said, has prompted deep spiritual reflection.
“We have been reminded of how fragile life is,” Paredes said. “We have reflected on the importance of placing our security in God, on our responsibility to serve the most vulnerable, and on the need to live each day prepared for Christ’s return. A catastrophe like this brings many lessons.”
Even as relief efforts continue, church leaders recognize that the long-term challenges are only beginning.
“One of our biggest concerns is knowing how many members will remain in the city after the earthquake because some families may relocate permanently,” Paredes said. “There are many challenges ahead. One of the greatest is providing food for those who stayed behind because most supermarkets in the affected areas were destroyed.”
A Message of Hope Remains
Many Adventist workers have remained on the front lines since the first hours following the disaster. Among them is Pastor José Manuel Cedeño, an Adventist chaplain serving at a health center in Caracas, who has been working alongside emergency rescue personnel since the day of the earthquakes.
For Pastor Waider Cardossi, president of the Central East Venezuela Conference, one scene in La Guaira has become a lasting symbol of hope. Amid collapsed buildings and piles of rubble, a single sign remained standing.
“It simply read, ‘Choose Christ Today,'” Cardossi said. “In the middle of so much destruction, that invitation has never seemed more meaningful.”
The East Venezuela Union Mission serves nearly 79,000 members worshipping in more than 850 churches and congregations across eastern Venezuela and operates two Adventist primary and secondary schools.
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