Young Adventists Hope Mission Project Sets a World Record

Adventists recruit locals and tourists to create an enormous metal-nail mosaic of Jesus in Spain.

By Victor Hulbert, communication director, Trans-European Division

Seventh-day Adventist young people recruited scores of locals and tourists to participate in a mission project to create the world’s largest metal-nail mosaic in the center of a Spanish town.

Several thousand participants took three days to hammer 100,000 nails to create a portrait of Jesus, measuring 15 square meters (161 square feet), on the sidelines of the European Adventist Youth Congress in Valencia.

“We nailed the nails because it was a nail that was used to put Jesus on a cross,” said Stephan Stigg, youth director for the Adventist Church’s Inter-European Division, which co-organized the congress with the Trans-European Division. “It was a nail that Luther used to put his thesis on a door in Wittenberg, to testify the good news about Christ. So, it’s all about Christ.”

This year marks 500years since Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

The nail mosaic serves a visual mission story that could touch many hearts.

“This portrait can now travel throughout Spain and attract people to the story of a nail,” Stigg said.

The idea for the Jesus nail portrait came from two Spanish youth leaders, Rubén Guzmán and Jonatán Contero, who saw it as a way to share their love for Christ as well as to promote Adventist beliefs.

“I think it is amazing for the people of Valencia to see the face of Jesus,” Concerto said.

They not only saw His face, but they also had opportunities to talk with young people and pastors, pick up free leaflets and books, and take photos in front of the portrait and a Guinness World Records poster. They also heard Christian music as Adventist young people sang in the square and on nearby streets.

The project was completed by local Valencians and tourists in the city square, photographed from a nearby rooftop, and certified by a local architect, Juan Vicente Torres.

Documents authenticating the dimensions have been submitted to Guinness World Records. The current record is held by Federico Delgado Heredia of San Carlos, Uruguay, who created ametal-nail mosaic measuring 11.91 square meters (128 square feet) in honor of his town’s 250^th anniversary in 2015.

Adventist young people were thrilled to have an impact on Valencia with the portrait of Jesus.

“It’s our job to reach the world,” said Emily Amzand, a young adult from the Netherlands. “Events like this make people curious, come and talk to us, and ask questions about what we are doing here. … It gives us an opportunity to talk about our faith and our beliefs.”

Nalishhuwa Ikachana, an Adventist from Britain, said it was important to engage with people outside the walls of the church.

“By us coming out here right now, people can learn more about the church and who actually God is,” Ikachana said.

Older Adventists were also excited about the project. Manel López, a history professor at nearby Sagunto Adventist College, dressed up in a 16^th-century costume for the occasion.

“I am Martin Luther. With a nail, I changed history,” he proudly announced, engaging in conversations across the square.