GC Session 2025

In his report during the 62nd General Conference Session on July 3, 2025, General Conference (GC) president Ted N. C. Wilson presented a global overview of Seventh-day Adventist mission during the 2022–2025 period. His remarks focused on Total Member Involvement (TMI), evangelistic campaigns, education, health outreach, and church growth around the world.

“We give God all the glory for what He has done through you, members and leaders of His remnant church,” Wilson said.

Wilson opened by acknowledging global crises such as wars, disasters, and division, then reaffirmed the church’s mission amid these challenges. Referencing Revelation 12:17 and a statement by Ellen G. White, he emphasized the faithfulness and global reach of God’s people in these final days.

“God will have a people,” Wilson said. “A chosen people from all nations, all tongues, in all parts of the habitable world.”

Day one of the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri, has concluded with the approval of the originally proposed agenda.

Sam Neves, associate director of Communications for the GC, shared a summary of this afternoon’s key moments during the evening press conference: 

• 277 names for the nominating committee have been voted and approved; they will begin meeting tomorrow, July 4, after morning worship.

• A motion to make an amendment regarding the 2015 immunization statement was brought forward but was turned down by delegates.

• A motion to add a report on public affairs and religious liberty to the agenda was also brought forward but was turned down by the delegates.

Churches across St. Louis, Missouri, United States, are reaching out to their communities through health and Bible prophecy events. Following the Pathway to Health event, 14 churches from the Iowa-Missouri, Central States, and Lake Region conferences began offering free health information courses (HICs). These efforts are part of a larger evangelistic push supported by the Mid-America Union Conference and North American Division through the General Conference.

At the same time, Bible presentations from well-known speakers have been drawing crowds. Earlier in May, Mark Finley, retired evangelist, shared discoveries from Bible lands—Egypt, Greece, and Turkey—that support the truth of Scripture. Now, Ted N. C. Wilson, General Conference president, is leading a Revelation series at the St. Louis Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, helping listeners understand the Bible’s final prophecies.

Jeremy Clark, Bible worker director for the Iowa-Missouri Conference and pastor of the Mid-Rivers Seventh-day Adventist Church, shared how each part of the initiative is connecting with people across the city. “We’re seeing people we never would’ve reached without this effort,” he said. “Pathway to Health gave us about 1,000 names of people who asked for Bible studies, health programs, or just a visit.”

During the afternoon business session on July 3, 2025, at the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri, a delegate made a motion to add to the agenda a review and discussion relating to the GC’s 2015 statement on immunization. The delegates voted against the motion.

The motion, brought by delegate Yuliyan Filipov from the North American Division’s Ohio Conference, read:

“To add to the agenda a review and discussion of the 2015 General Conference Administrative Committee statement on immunization, specifically its claim about peer-reviewed scientific literature in addition to the Bible and writings of Ellen G. White.”

Filipov shared his concern that the church was pivoting toward human tradition over biblical doctrine.

In a majority vote, delegates at the 2025 General Conference Session approved the addition of 11 new union conferences and union missions to the sisterhood of unions within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The new unions represent the following countries or regions: 

• North-East Cameroon Union Mission

• West-Central Cameroon Union Mission

• Costa Rica Union Mission

• Nicaragua Union Mission

• South Sudan Union Mission

• Northern Luzon Philippine Union Mission

• Southern Luzon Philippine Union Mission

• Southwestern Philippine Union Mission

• Southeastern Philippine Union Mission

• Mid-Ghana Union Conference 

• North-Central Ghana Union Mission

The term union mission refers to a region where the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a presence but limited resources to support outreach initiatives. These territories are assigned to another large organization to temporarily assist with oversight, finances, and leadership. 

On July 3, 2025, the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church officially began in St. Louis, Missouri, with a welcome from current church officers and a devotional by Mark Finley, assistant to the president of the GC.  

Finley opened his devotional encouraging delegates and attendees to “go make disciples of all nations,” referencing the Great Commission given to the disciples by Jesus in Matthew 28 before He returned to heaven. 

Finley described the world Jesus was in as being “filled with paganism and military might. A nation of millions that would eagerly watch a fight to the death for sport and believed in the power of man-made gods.” 

According to research quoted by Finley, there was an estimated one Christian for every 500,000 people within the first-century Roman Empire, and an estimated 120 Christian disciples.

It took over five years of planning and fourteen major subcommittees. There are 1,100 exhibit booth spaces, more than 500 staff, and preparations for 50,000 worshipers. At its center is a small group of three sleep-deprived planners juggling room diagrams, vegetarian menus, and last-minute visa hiccups. Welcome to the invisible engine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s 2025 General Conference (GC) Session. 

Behind the headline numbers sits a small control room. George Egwakhe, an associate treasurer at the GC, doubles as Session Manager; Silvia Sicalo, the GC’s lead meeting planner, serves as Associate Session Manager; and Sabrina De Souza, an associate treasurer who will assume the role of Session Manager in 2030, rounds out the trio. 

“In the end,” Sicalo says with a laugh, “it’s basically just the three of us everyone defaults to.”

In the heart of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, the America’s Center Convention Complex is rapidly transforming in preparation for the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

With just days to go before the official start on July 3, 2025, setup crews are working to prepare the 500,000-square-foot venue for an estimated 100,000 delegates, staff, and attendees. 

The arena, which will serve as the main meeting hall, is being fitted with advanced audiovisual equipment to support multilingual programming and international livestreams. 

Jim Hobbs, who has worked with the North American Division in the Central California Conference for approximately eight years, will be one of the audio engineers working during the 10-day event. 

Dr. Mark Finley recently led a five-night series titled "Astonishing Discoveries and Prophecies" at the St. Louis Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, in St. Louis, Missouri, where Mark Tagaloa, Adventist pastor from the Iowa-Missouri Conference, serves as the lead pastor. The meetings were held on June 12, 14, 15, 17, and 18, and focused on how history and archaeology support the Bible.

“There was a welcoming spirit in the room as people visited with one another before and after the meeting,” said Craig Carr, Ministerial and Evangelism director for the Mid-America Union Conference.

Each night began with a friendly greeting from Finley, who introduced the evening’s topic. His wife, Ernestine “Teeny” Finley, also gave short talks about living a healthy and happy life using natural foods and remedies.

The 2025 General Conference (GC) Session app is now available for delegates and attendees to download in preparation for the 62nd GC Session scheduled for July 3–12, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri.

“This is truly the inaugural digital-first GC Session and the app is central to that experience,” said Sam Neves, GC associate director of Communication.

The previous session, held in 2022, was a hybrid event that introduced the first version of a GC Session app. However, that version was built on a third-party event platform, resulting in a limited user experience.

“For this year’s session, we wanted the best possible experience,” said Neves. “That meant investing the time to develop our own application.”

For sisters Lychel Lee Gabuco and Cheard Lyzz Gabuco, ministry has never been about the spotlight. It’s about showing up, often behind the scenes, often in silence, and building a space where Deaf individuals can see, feel, and live the love of Jesus.

Now, after more than 15 years of full-time service in Deaf ministry, the two are heading to the 62nd General Conference Session as representatives of the Adventist Possibility Ministries (APM) and Adventist Deaf Ministries International–Philippines. For them, it’s more than an event. It’s a milestone in a journey defined by prayer, perseverance, and purpose.

“We never imagined we’d be part of something this global,” Lychel shared. “Most of our work happens in small churches, local communities, and Deaf spaces that people don’t always see.”

The sisters have spent years seeking the Deaf in various regions of the Philippines, establishing Deaf ministries in churches, training volunteer interpreters, and empowering Deaf leaders. Although the number of Deaf members is still small, approximately 200 members and 20 interpreters across seven churches, their impact continues to grow.

Over 2,000 volunteers and healthcare professionals were recently in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States, offering free medical, dental, and vision services to the public as part of the Pathway to Health mega clinic. From May 5–8, 2025, the event was held at the America’s Center Convention Complex and was open to all, with no insurance, documentation, or ID required.

People lined up early on May 5 to receive services ranging from cardiology and dermatology to pediatrics, women’s health, minor surgeries, and dental work. Vision care includes eye exams and free prescription glasses. Volunteers are also offering physical therapy, massages, clothing, and haircuts.

Pathway to Health is a nonprofit humanitarian service of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is the ninth mega clinic they have operated since 2014, and many of the volunteers come from around the country to be Jesus' hands and feet in St. Louis.