The delegates during the 61st General Confernece Session voted to re-elect Erton Köhler for a second term during the business session on Tuesday, June 7. Köhler, one of the Church’s three executive officers, has served as General Conference Secretary since April 2021, following GT Ng’s retirement. 

As Secretary, Köhler advises the Office of Adventist Mission, the Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, and the Institute of World Mission. His office is responsible for preparing agenda items for major business meetings and committees, recording meeting minutes, and coordinating the development and review of Church working policy and manual. 

Köhler and his team also “provide support, promotion, and strategic input for the mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including selection and appointment of international service employees and volunteer personnel for all calls between divisions.”[i]

Köhler is a native of southern Brazil. Following in his father’s footsteps, he chose a pastoral path, graduating from the Adventist Teaching Institute (now Brazilian Adventist University) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Theology. He also completed a Doctoral Degree from the Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.

Prior to his Secretariat election, Köhler served the South American Division as local church pastor, conference youth ministries director, conference executive secretary, division youth ministries director and division president over his 32 years in ministry.

Köhler has been a firm voice for unity amidst diversity, emphasizing a commitment to the mission of the Church. While concluding his Secretary’s Report at the 2021 Annual Council, he said, “our eyes shouldn’t focus on the crisis (referring to the Covid-19 pandemic), but on the One that is bigger than the crisis, always believing that our greatest challenges precede His greatest miracles. It’s time to move forward, fully depending on prayer and on our biblical identity, accepting the commitment to be a positive influence in this world, and renewing our focus on virtual and in-person mission through Christ’s method.”

Please continue to uplift Köhler and his family in prayer as he continues serving the World Church in this ministry capacity.

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[i] https://secretariat.adventist.org/about/