Our Beliefs
We believe in a loving Creator/God and accept the testimony of His son Jesus when he said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” God is just as loving, and trustworthy as His son, just as willing to forgive and heal. Though infinite in majesty and power, our Creator is an equally gracious Person who values nothing higher than the freedom, dignity, and individuality of His intelligent creatures – that their love, faith, and willingness to listen and obey, may be freely given.
Denominational History
The origin of the Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs) can be traced to the Millerite Movement of the 19th Century. William Miller (1782-1849) was a farmer who settled in upstate New York after the war of 1812. After two years of private Bible study, Miller converted to Christianity and became a Baptist lay leader. In 1831, he started to preach; the next year, he wrote articles about his findings. His followers called themselves Adventists; the group was often referred to as Millerites by others. Ellen Harmon (later known by her married name Ellen White) joined with other Adventists, including Joseph Bates, and her husband James White to form a small group of Baptist, Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian believers in Washington, NH. The church was formally organized as the Seventh-day Adventist Church on May 21, 1863.
The SDA church has always taken a special interest in health concerns and has played a major role in health research. They sponsor cooking classes, heart disease teams, narcotics education outreaches and disaster teams. There are 155 SDA hospitals and 276 clinics, dispensaries, etc. in the world. They also currently operate 92 post-secondary institutions, almost 1000 secondary schools and over 4000 elementary schools and kindergartens.
Local Church History
It was to this quiet little valley, appropriately named Tranquility, that the New Jersey Conference of Seventh-day Adventists chose to relocate its private boarding school in 1963. Moved from Plainfield, New Jersey, the new Garden State Academy staff and faculty joined with families who moved into the area and formed the original group that was known as Tranquility Chapel. This early group moved from building to building throughout the community until October 30, 1976, when the doors of the present facility opened. Well over one thousand people have been, or are members of this church. Its mission is to share the love of Christ through such as the Tranquility Adventist School, a pillar of educational excellence. Growing in Christ, it stands as a light until the Lord comes again.