Approximately 65,000 Seventh-day Adventists from around the world will show up in San Antonio, Texas July 2-11 for the church’s 60th quinquennial General Conference Session themed Arise! Shine! Jesus is Coming!

Hosted at the Alamodome and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, the 2015 Session will engage members, leaders and delegates in discussing, reporting, voting and worshiping together for 10 days.

What are some of this year’s topics?

  1. First off, delegates will elect the president, secretary, treasurer, vice presidents and some department leaders for the world church’s headquarters and its 13 divisions.
  2. After that, discussions will follow about proposed changes to the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, including causes for church discipline.
  3. Updates to the church’s fundamental beliefs will also be considered, in particular a stronger position regarding a literal six-day creation.
  4. There will be proposed changes to the constitution and bylaws, especially regarding ownership of Oakwood University in Alabama and Pacific Press Publishing Association in Idaho.
  5. Finally, delegates should expect to spend a full day discussing the question of whether or not it is “acceptable for division executive committees, as they may deem it appropriate in their territories, to make provision for the ordination of women to the gospel ministry.” This will be a Yes or No vote.

Who gets to vote?

Delegates representing each union conference/mission are selected from a percentage of its total membership. Of the 2,566 delegates for this Session, 16% are under the age of 40, and 17% are female (get more stats here). See the list of Mid-America’s delegates below.

How is voting conducted?

For the first time ever, delegates will use hand held electronic voting devices (clickers) instead of holding up cards to be counted. Each division’s caucus group recommends names to the nominating committee for its particular officers and departmental leaders, and all the delegates from around the world vote regarding each name presented.

How can I get the latest news and reports?

The church’s official news reporting is through Adventist News Network.

For a Mid-western perspective, visit OUTLOOK’s website or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (hashtag #GCSA15) for daily session updates and photos of people you may know.

You may also sign up for our e-newsletter to have updates delivered to your email inbox (sign up coming soon).

The evening meetings will be live streamed at Hope Channel.

I’m attending—How can I connect with other Mid-Americans there?

Stop by the following booths (that we know of) in the Convention Center:

Union College, AdventSource, ASI Mid-America, Christian Record Services for the Blind, Pine Ridge Reservation.

You can download the GC App for either Android or Apple to find their locations.

Where can I get more info?

Details about travel, hotels, food, weather (hot!) and other activities in San Antonio are available here.

Mid-America’s delegates:

Based on the constitutional requirements of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, these 18 delegates have been elected by the Mid-America Union Conference Executive Committee to represent Mid-America members at the GC Session.

  1. DeAnna Bacon
  2. David Bailey
  3. Ed Barnett
  4. Neil Biloff
  5. Ron Carlson
  6. Dean Coridan
  7. Ed Galan
  8. Joann Herrington
  9. Raylene Jones
  10. Thomas Lemon
  11. Justin Lyons
  12. Bryan Mann
  13. Troy Peoples
  14. Yolanda Rodrigues
  15. Vinita Sauder
  16. Yulian Tinoco
  17. Maurice Valentine
  18. Gil Webb

Have a question for any/all of them? Send an email.

Print Friendly Version