Humans of Adventism

Humans of Adventism is a brand-new 10-episode documentary series that shares the stories of Adventists from all walks of life. Released on YouTube last week, the series is unique because it tells stories that spark dialogue rather than rehashing the tidy talking points of official denominational media.

The project was put together by two Adventists from the Oregon conference: filmmaker Justin Khoe and director Kaleb Eisele.

The Humans of Adventism stories show the diversity in the Adventist community. They don’t attempt to dissect the 28 fundamentals of the church or iron out the finer points of theology. Instead, the series looks at what makes Adventists tick, what gives them purpose and meaning.

The COVID-19 pandemic broke out after only a month of Humans of Adventism filming so the series includes stories of church shutdowns, job loss, the story of a teacher tackling the challenges of remote learning, as well as a COVID survivor’s miraculous near-death experience.

The Humans of Adventism documentary series is the latest creative milestone in what started in 2017 as a stream of photo-story posts about Adventists. The project was inspired by photojournalist Brandon Stanton’s work in New York City.

The simple idea that got the ball rolling was that the life stories of Adventists needed to be explored more deeply. Eisele began documenting two stories each week on an independent Facebook page as a personal project. The project grew from there.

Check out the Humans Of Adventism trailer and all 10 episodes here: