More than 2,400 voting members expected to gather in Atlanta; push for younger delegates

Though it's nearly a year away, some 2,400 delegates are already being selected for the Seventh-day Adventist Church's 59th General Conference Session, scheduled for June 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

Last week, the executive secretary's office of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists sent each of the church's 13 world regions, or "divisions," their quota of voting delegates for the 10-day General Conference Session.

Secretary Matthew Bediako said each division will select delegates and submit names to his office by the end of 2009.

Held every five years, General Conference Session is the international business meeting of the Adventist world church. This Christian World Communion now has roughly 16 million adult baptised members in 207 countries.

Though the protestant denomination began in the United States of America in the 1860s, the movement has spread; about one-third of its members now live in Africa and another third live in South and Central America.

Voting delegates for Session represent world regions both by church population and the self-sustainability of administrative regions.

For example, a self-sustaining group of churches in a territory is classified as a "conference," whereas a similar group receiving outside funding is referred to as a "mission." The distinction is also similar for "unions" -- groups of conferences across several states or provinces. A self-sustaining region is referred to as a "union conference" versus a "union mission," which is not.

Conferences and union conferences each send their president and two additional delegates to Session, whereas missions and union missions each send only one additional delegate besides the administration's president.

All delegates must be Seventh-day Adventist Church members in regular standing, the Adventist Church's Constitution states.

The Constitution also states that at least 50 percent of delegates shall be laypersons, pastors, teachers, and non-administrative employees, of both genders and representing a range of age groups and nationalities.

"That's to avoid the General Conference Session delegation being all church employees," Bediako said. He added, "Out of that 50 percent a good portion should be young people."

The General Synod (or General Conference Session) is the forum for electing world church officers for the next five years. Positions up for re-election are the president, vice presidents, division presidents, the secretary and associates, treasurer and associates, as well as departmental directors.

While department associates have typically been up for re-election at Session, the 2010 Session could be a departure from tradition. In 2008, the church's Executive Committee approved a measure that would delay departmental associates' election until the first Annual Council after Session, which is usually held in the fall. This would allow more time for newly elected departmental leaders to select their associates.

World church Associate Secretary Rosa Banks said it's expected that the measure will be on the agenda at the 2010 Session.

Constitutional items to be voted include an adjustment of the Church Manual and approval of a change in the organization of church unions.

The Church Manual is currently being rewritten by a subcommittee to simplify the writing and eliminate redundancies, Bediako said.

Also, in 2007, the church's Executive Committee approved the wider use of the "unions of churches" distinction, in which the local conference is eliminated and a group of churches relates directly to the General Conference.

Bediako said the meeting is also a spiritual gathering. The first day will feature a time of spiritual emphasis. During the business portion of Session, Divisions will also deliver reports on ministry in their territories.

Session is scheduled to meet at the Georgia Dome & Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), Wednesday, June 23 through Saturday, July 3, 2010. [Editors: Ansel Oliver and Christian B. Schaeffler for ANN/APD]