Ole Andres Olsen

Ole Andres Olsen (July 28, 1845 – January 29, 1915)[1] was a Seventh-day Adventist minister and administrator. He was General Conference president from 1888 to 1897.[2]

Born in Skogen, near Christiania, Norway, Olsen emigrated to the United States to Wisconsin at the age of 5. By the age of 9 his parents had begun to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. He was baptized in 1858.

From 1876 to 1877 he attended school at Battle Creek College (now Andrews University). In 1869 the Wisconsin Conference granted him a ministerial license. On June 2, 1873, he was ordained as a minister. The following year he was elected president of the Wisconsin Conference. He served in a variety of administrative posts.

At the 1888 General Conference session he was elected General Conference president.[3] Olsen was one of the first individuals to advocate the formation of Union Conferences. After he was not reelected as church president (1897) he went as a missionary to South Africa. In 1901 he was asked to head the work in Great Britain.

Olsen died of a heart attack on January 29, 1915.

1888 - 1897, The Olsen Presidency

The 1888 General Conference Session elected Olsen as president. However, he was in Europe at the time and did not take on the presidency until May 1889. The 1889 General Conference session, held in October, gave Olsen the opportunity to bring about changes and development. His opening address set the pace.[4] Olsen's objectives included everyday administrative concerns as well a major shifting of structure and practices:

Europe: Adventist literature should be translated into the Russian and Spanish languages. There should be more translation of such literature into German. Establish laborers in Turkey, France, Italy, Austria, Holland and Spain. Believers in Scandinavia want, and should have, schools established.

Australasia: The Australasian Conference needed a business manager so the leader, Tenny, could do more editing and conference work. Daniells, in New Zealand, needed an assistant. The canvassing work was getting started there and needed to be put on a business footing.

South Africa: For South Africa, a Dutch laborer should go back with Wessels to work among the people of that nationality. There should be tracts in the Nguni languages.

The United States: The work in the Southern United States needed attention. Olsen believed that canvassing, or book sales, would be the most successful type of work in the early years of the work there. Missions in the big American cities should get special help. The Bible school in Chicago deserved the conference's support. In 1889, three Colleges existed to serve the church: Battle Creek in Michigan, South Lancaster in Massachusetts, and Healdsburg in California. Careful consideration should be given to a college in the Mid-West. Olsen recommended that the work in the United States be divided into districts with each one being under the supervision of a member of the General Conference committee. This district superintendent would plan the institutes, camp-meetings, general meetings and other work for the territory. (Olsen, 1889, p. 8) [4] As the meetings progressed, Olsen's recommendation on this became a reality.[5]

Training Institutes: There should be special time-limited schools established for the training of ministers, the teaching of the Scandinavian, French and German languages in the United States. Most of these schools were slated to begin in November 1889. Yet, everything that has been started should be improved upon.

Religious Liberty: The recently established National Religious Liberty Association should receive the General Conference Session's endorsement. The GC Session should also develop a plan for circulating Religious Liberty petitions.[4]

These initiatives demonstrate Olsen's comprehensive involvement with the world church.

See also


Preceded by
George Ide Butler		 President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
1888 - 1897 		Succeeded by
George A. Irwin

References

  1. ↑ Ochs, Daniel A. and Ochs, Grace Lillian (1974). The Past and the Presidents. Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, TN. SBN: 8127-0084-8.
  2. ↑ Evans, I. H. (February 25, 1915). "Elder O. A. Olsen" (PDF). Review and Herald. Washington, D. C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. 92 (10): 14, 15. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.andrews.edu/library/car/collection/O/Olsen,%20O%20A%20Collection.pdf
  4. 1 2 3 Olsen, O. A. (October 18, 1889). "Opening Address". General Conference Daily Bulletin, Review and Herald Extra. Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing Association. 3 (1): 3–8. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Judiciary Committee". General Conference Daily Bulletin, Review and Herald Extra. Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing Association. 3 (8): 4. October 27, 1889. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
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