A joyful celebration marked 36 years of God’s leading at Dubai Central Seventh-day Adventist Church. From humble beginnings in the 1980s to a thriving, multicultural congregation of over 500 members, the anniversary honored God’s faithfulness, unity, and the continued mission to serve and grow together in faith.
Over 900 believers gathered on Sabbath, August 30, for a very special worship service to celebrate the 36th Anniversary of the Dubai Central Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church. The service, which was held at the Gulf Field Headquarters in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), highlighted the history of the Advent movement in the Persian Gulf area.
The Dubai Central Church was the first Adventist congregation to be organized in the region. Even though Adventists presence in the area could be traced as far back as in the mid-1970s, they would not formally organize until the early 1980s.
Esther Gallyot, an ardent Adventist from India, arrived in Dubai with her family from India in the late 1970s, but was unable to connect with other Adventists. In 1980, Pam Gallyot, Esther’s daughter, started working with the British Bank of the Middle East (now HSBC). As Pam started to make friends with several colleagues at the bank, some became curious about her lifestyle.
Patrick, one of her colleagues, asked why she didn’t take coffee breaks. When she responded that she was an Adventist and didn’t drink coffee, she was surprised to learn that Patrick was also an Adventist. Another surprise was awaiting as Patrick took Pam to introduce her to his sister Christine and her husband Kumar. Christine and Kumar happened to live in the same building where Pam’s mother, Esther, was working.
That was the beginning of a series of connections that helped this small group of Adventist believers to start making friends with neighbours and connecting with other Adventists. Vesper meetings started to be held at Christine and Kumar’s residence.
A group of nurses from the Philippines joined this small group in the mid-1980s and the group started to grow slowly and steadily. In 1987, Elder Gerald D. Karst, who was then the President of the Middle East Union, visited Dubai and organized the group as a company. Captain Roy Facey, a British Naval Officer, was selected as the Elder for the newly established company.
Two years later, in 1989, the company was organized as a church, Dubai Seventh-day Adventist Church, by Elder Svein B. Johansen, who had become the President of the Middle East Union.
The Lord continued to bless His work and His church in Dubai. Over time the Church has given birth to many other churches around the United Arab Emirates. When three other churches were planted in the city, the Dubai SDA Church became the Dubai Central SDA Church.
“The story of the Dubai Central congregation is, at its core, a testament to God’s guidance, watchcare, and tender mercy towards His people. As you celebrate the growth of this blessed congregation, may you also be eager to trace God’s hand of providence and blessing in your own lives and, most importantly, in your collective experience. We can truly say that God has been good,” said Gulf Field President Pr. Marc Coleman.
The service was filled with abundant music from around the world. The Dubai Central Church, which has a membership of over 500 members, is blessed to have believers from 52 countries. One of the highlights of the celebration was the vibrant parade of nations featuring representatives from these 52 different countries.
To accommodate this diversity of believers, the Dubai Central Church has started to create Sabbath School classes in some of these various languages. So far, the church has ten classes, and more are planned in the near future.
The celebration included an abundance of stories and testimonies glorifying God for leading over the years and attendees were blessed with a powerful sermon shared by a former pastor of the church, Pr. Andy Espinoza.
The sermon was based on the story in 1 Samuel 7 when the Prophet Samuel called the children of Israel to repent and return to the Lord. Prior to this revival, God’s people had been beaten twice by the Philistines and the Ark of God was captured by the Philistines. God attacked all the Philistines cities where they took the Ark, and it was later returned to Israel. Then Samuel called the people together for a revival and while they were praying, the Philistines attacked them again. But this time, after the revival, the Lord delivered a great victory for Israel. After the Lord delivered the victory, Samuel put up a stone and called it Ebenezer, thus far, the Lord has helped us.
Pastor Espinoza, currently serving in Beirut, Lebanon, reminded the congregation that just as God was Ebenezer, the stone of help, to his people so long ago, God is still Ebenezer to us today. He challenged the Church to go forward with four values in mind; unity by standing together, courage by facing challenges with boldness, faith by trusting in God’s power, and mission, which is the main reason why we are here.
Pastor Juan Diego Benavides, who currently pastors the Dubai Central SDA Church, challenged the members with these words: “Dear brethren, as we celebrate the 36th anniversary of our church, let us remember that the Lord is our strength, our help, and our victory. In Him, we find new beginnings, the courage to overcome setbacks, and the strength to achieve new victories. Let us continue to move forward in faith, trusting in the Lord, our Ebenezer, who has been our constant help in times past and is our sure hope for the future. Our Ebenezer will grant us victory over sin and, in His mercy, the crown of eternal life.”
Let us pray: Dear God, thank you for being our Ebenezer, our constant help in the past and our sure hope for the future. May we faithfully trust and serve you as you finish the work that you have begun.