Financial trends and reports on church growth are on the planned agenda for the Seventh-day Adventist world church's executive Spring Meeting, held this year at Loma Linda University in California.

The meetings, which will include elections for world church leadership positions including that of the editor of the church's official paper, the Adventist Review, and the reorganization of the church in Peru, are being held at the conclusion of centennial celebrations for Loma Linda University.

Spring Meeting is one of two major meetings of the world church; the other, Annual Council, is held in the autumn and brings together the full executive committee of the world church which includes some 100 representatives of church's top leadership and its world divisions.

"We're mainly dealing with financial items. However, there will be a few items that will come in that cannot wait until Annual Council," says Orville Parchment, assistant to Pastor Jan Paulsen, the world church president.

Larry Evans, undersecretary of the world church, says one of most important topics attendees will see this week is a report showing that mission giving has increased by 3 percent.

"The downward trend is beginning to show some dramatic improvement," Evans said. "Tithe is also showing a 9 percent to 10 percent increase around the world, not just in North America, which shows a 9.5 percent increase in the last year, but there's some very good trends outside of North America. That's good news for the church."

Other agenda items will include investment strategies for the church, official statements and elections for some departmental positions. Because of substantial growth of the Adventist Church in Peru, proper administration of the church there now calls for two separate unions, or local administrative church regions, to be organized. There are more than 700,000 adult believers in Peru today, officials noted.[Editor: Wendi Rogers for ANN/APD]