That is the message the AIIAS community conveyed to Elder Erton Kohler and his colleagues, Rick McEdward, Paul Douglas, and Magdiel Perez Schulz, on their recent visit to AIIAS on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Reaffirming AIIAS’s commitment to vision as “a Christ-centered community of leaders with a heart for mission,” the gathered AIIAS attendees rose to the OneVoice27 challenge initially unveiled by Elder Kohler at the October 2025 Annual Council in Silver Spring, Maryland. OneVoice27 project’s goal is to use media, both digital and print, to tell the world Jesus is the Messiah between now and September 2027.
Elder Kohler and his colleagues arrived by jeepney, the Philippines’ legendary local transportation, to spend about five hours with students, staff, and faculty. Their visit could be summed up in one word: “Connection.”
They spent the afternoon visiting and posing for pictures with delighted students, staff, and faculty as they toured the AIIAS campus on foot. The tour officially kicked off with two songs performed by the staff ukulele choir, and went on to feature a short concert and presentation at the Academy, taking photos at the Library’s Christmas photo booth, a special prayer in the prayer garden, and interactions with faculty and students at the graduate school and theological seminary. The team’s openness, joy, and genuine interest in the people, life, and mission of AIIAS were evident throughout their tour, which was followed by supper with Student Association officers and institutional administrators.
The culmination and highlight of the visit was a special evening chapel held in the Auditorium to launch the General Conference’s OneVoice27 project. The hundreds of audience members showed up wearing AIIAS OneVoice27 purple t-shirts, causing AIIAS President Ginger Ketting-Weller to point out in her welcome that the “sea of purple” was her dream come true.
Dressed in a purple AIIAS OneVoice27 t-shirt to match his listeners, Elder Kohler delighted the assembly by honoring AIIAS as “the General Conference’s embassy in Asia.” He then launched the OneVoice27 project by describing the elements of the project. His inspiring message encouraged the AIIAS family to draw closer to Jesus Christ as the 2000-year anniversary of the beginning of His ministry approaches, to be celebrated in September 2027. The audience was invited to find creative ways, individually or in collaboration with others, to share the gospel to world, especially those who are unreached. “Integration for Mission,” as the General Conference president termed it, highlights the power of social media and creation of networks to share about Jesus in ways that naturally fit people’s individual talents and cultural characteristics.
At the close of the chapel, AIIAS faculty, staff, students, and even children were invited to prepare their hearts by reading through the book “Desire of Ages,” one chapter each week, both individually and in their community groups. Hands were raised all across the auditorium in commitment to contribute to the involvement of each person to the project. Each individual received a Desire of Ages reading plan bookmark for tracking their weekly reading progress. Elder Kohler closed the service with a special dedication prayer for the AIIAS community. Everyone then gathered around him for a photo, standing together as the ‘sea of purple,’ committed anew to telling the world about the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ.
