Richard A. Sabuin

Richard A. Sabuin, Ph.D., graduated in 1991 from the Adventist University of Indonesia with BA in Theology. He then completed his Master of Ministry degree (2001), and Ph.D. in New Testament (2006) at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), Philippines.

His service in the Seventh Day Adventist Church began in Kalimantan Mission, Indonesia (1992-1998), where he served in various responsibilities including as a local church pastor, a district pastor, and an associate director of the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries. Then for three years he served as an associate editor at the Indonesia Publishing House (1998-2001).

In 2006 he joined the AIIAS Seminary as a professor, before he was appointed as the chair of the Biblical Studies Department (2009), and the Seminary Dean (2011). At the NSD quinquennial session, November 2015, he was elected as the Education Director and the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Director of the Division. Recently, in April 2016, he was reappointed to continue serving as the Education Director of NSD. In addition to this responsibility, he has been serving as the acting Executive Secretary of the Division since March 2021.

Pastor Sabuin and his wife, Paula Moniaga, MPH, have two children: Alef is now serving as GCAS intern at Lake Union Conference, Michigan, and Richla is now serving as an English Lecturer at Klabat University, Manado, Indonesia.

Ministry Description

Mission of the Education Department

The Education Department is part of the global Seventh-day Adventist educational system, and is responsible for the supervision, coordination, promotion, training, and quality of 54 schools, colleges and universities in the Northern Asia-Pacific Division. These institutions have approximately 1,155 teachers and 21,023 students, in addition to 49 language schools with 577 teachers and 114,532 students. (Statistics as of October, 2011).

Working in close cooperation with the Education Department Directors of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the union conference/mission Education Directors, it offers services to boards, administrators, and faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist K-12 schools, colleges and universities in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia.

It also provides support through the union conference/mission educational leaders to teachers in Seventh-day Adventist K-12 schools, colleges and graduate schools to ensure that the Adventist philosophy of education and the principles of faith-and-learning are integrated into the life of each institution.

In addition, it cooperates with the departments of the Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, Children's Ministries, Youth Ministries, and the Ministerial Association in nurturing the faith of Seventh-day Adventist students attending non-Seventh-day Adventist schools/colleges/universities in the region.

Education Web Site