Adventist-laymen's Services and Industries® (ASI®) marked its 60th anniversary this year at the annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

ASI, the organization of Seventh-day Adventist lay persons involved in professions, industry, education, or services, exists to provide challenge, nurture, and experience in "Sharing Christ in the Marketplace" as well as support for the global mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

ASI began back in Madison, Tennessee, in the days of Ellen G. White. She strongly supported establishing an industrial school near Nashville, Tennessee. E.A. Sutherland, later the first president of ASI, and Percy Magan started the school in 1904 with a work-study program that would allow students to work and pay for their education. This later became Madison College.

Out of the model of this self-supporting school, other self-supporting entities were started. Workers met together at Madison every year, sharing experiences and encouraging each other.

In 1946, E.A. Sutherland was asked by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to serve as secretary of the newly-formed Commission on Rural Living. The next spring a group of self-supporting workers and General Conference representatives met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to organize what became the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Self-Supporting Institutions. When the association grew and gradually included lay people in business, the name was changed to its current one in 1979.

Long-time ASI member, Edwin Martin, has a rich heritage in the church and self-supporting ministries. His father, Neil Martin, attended Madison in 1908 and stayed in the Madison vicinity until 1925. Neil was a charter member of ASI, attending the first convention in 1947 along with Edwin's brother, Charles. Though he did not attend that first gathering, Edwin says, "I've been associated with ASI on and off since it first began." He is probably the oldest and longest-attending member at conventions these days.

At each convention, a special offering is taken to fund ASI-sponsored projects in the coming year. Projects in 2007 include, among others, establishing a meal program in the slums of Phnom Penh, building a second floor to the dormitory at Eden Garden Orphanage, establishing a medical and dental clinic in Guatemala, and sponsoring Bible workers in Nepal. For a complete list of ASI-sponsored projects, visit www.asiministries.org.

You are invited to join this dedicated group of laypersons. For ASI membership information or to learn about the 2008 ASI convention in Tampa, Florida, visit www.asiministries.org.

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Conference communication director. Judy Thomsen is communication director for Adventist-laymen's Services and Industries.