On July 8, 2025, at the 62nd General Conference Session, delegates voted to affirm Adventist Youth Ministries (AYM) as an active ministry in disciple-making mission work with a change to the wording in the Church Manual.  

The amendment will replace the word discipleship with the newly approved term disciple-making throughout the Youth Ministries chapter of the Church Manual and also updates the AYM pledge:

“Loving the Lord Jesus, I promise to take an active part in the youth ministry of the church, doing what I can to help others and to finish the work of the gospel in all the world.”

AYM is the official youth department at the GC and breaks down each age group into the categories below: 

Junior Youth:

• Adventurers: ages 4-9 

• Pathfinders: ages 10-15 

Senior Youth: 

• Ambassadors: ages 16-21

• Young Adults: ages 22-30 

• Public Campus Students and Staff: ages 16-30+ (newly added) 

Gerson P. Santos, associate secretary of the GC, presented the report to delegates in the morning session, reading through additions, including lines 31-33. 

“In the quest for disciple-making, the goal of AYM should be to bring all youth to a saving relationship with Christ, build them up in His Word to reflect a Christ-like character, train them how to serve the church, public campuses, and communities using their spiritual gifts, and send them out to reach the communities in the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

Discussions on the vote opened after the lunch break with opening remarks from AYM director Busi Khumalo. 

“We are simply trying to align the resources and practices of the AYM with the Church Manual because what we are presenting is already occurring in our structure,” Khumalo said in comments at the delegate microphone. 

The motion read: 

“To amend the Church Manual, Chapter 9, Local Church Officers and Organizations, pages 110 to 115, Adventist Youth Ministries, to read as follows,” along with the amended words.

The motion passed with a show of voting cards. 

For more coverage of the 2025 General Conference Session, including live updates, interviews, and delegate stories, visit adventist.news and follow ANN on social media.