The 2025 General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, July 3-12, 2025, offers more than a gathering of delegates and global worship; it’s a living snapshot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s dual commitment to rigorous theological scholarship and accessible, Spirit-led biblical education for all.

From seminary classrooms to global prayer rooms, the church is weaving a tight connection between thoughtful scholarship and daily faith, pastoral insight and lay transformation.

Across the exhibit hall, attendees encounter a diverse range of theological resources, reflecting a church that values both deep doctrinal integrity and wide-reaching spiritual growth. This focus ensures pastors and laity are equipped with knowledge to offer hope and meaning in a world seeking understanding.

The Seminary: Training Pastors for Real Life

“Ministry is a life of study,” said Trevor Barnes Jr., pastor of the Northside Seventh-day Adventist Church in St. Louis, reflecting on how seminary shaped his preaching and pastoral life. “You’re always digging into the Word because people can fact-check you in real time.”

For him, theological education isn’t about theory, it’s about credibility and Spirit-led substance in an age of instant information.

Efrain Velazquez, president of the Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary, echoed that sentiment from an educator’s lens.

“Today’s theological education is no longer about memorization. It’s about contextualization, bringing voices from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean—and dealing with real-world issues: sexuality, politics, lament, justice,” Velazquez said. The seminary’s approach is wholistic, he added. Professors in the field teach from a lived experience. Pastors like Pierre Caporal of Haiti, after completing advanced degrees, now lead in media ministries and teach across multiple regions.

This isn’t abstract theology, Velaquez pointed out. Pastors trained at the seminary preach with depth at funerals, guide members through suffering, and address pain with biblical wisdom. "When a child dies," Valezquez said, "you don’t want a shallow cliché. You need the weight of Job, the lament of the Psalms, to reach the hearts of people and meet their needs."

The theological education curriculum is evolving too—integrating tools like Logos Bible Software, and pushing for courses in business and administration to meet the contemporary demands of church leadership.

The Biblical Research Institute

If the seminary forms the theological heart of the church’s ministers, the Biblical Research Institute (BRI) is the theological spine—reflecting the church’s willingness to wrestle with hard questions and provide biblically faithful and intellectually sound answers.

“The BRI exists to serve the church,” said Alberto Timm, one of BRI’s associate directors. “Not just to help members know Jesus as Savior, but to follow His teachings as Lord.”

The BRI’s work speaks to the church’s desire for both revival and reformation. In response to modern theological challenges — such as anti-Trinitarianism, ethical dilemmas with AI, or misunderstandings around sola scriptura — BRI has produced deeply researched, widely accessible books. Each publication represents collaborative global scholarship, reviewed by the 50-member Biblical Research Committee to ensure it reflects the unified voice of the world church.

Resources are not limited to scholars. BRI books are low cost, non-technical in language, and widely available in digital formats. The newly launched Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Dictionary and free downloads on AdventistBiblicalResearch.org help bridge the academic-lay divide.

The goal, according to Timm, is to train thought leaders — pastors and elders — who then transmit these insights into everyday language to members in the local church.

Revival and Reformation

The church’s theological education does not stop at the pulpit. While the seminaries train pastors and the BRI equips leaders, the Revival and Reformation movement brings it home to every member and every family, with resources designed to deepen personal devotion and encourage community revival. At GC Session 2025, the movement’s impact is visible. Prayer rooms are packed. Bible study groups are buzzing. The hunger for a deeper relationship with Jesus is tangible.

“This isn’t about minor course corrections,” said Melody Mason, Back to the Altar coordinator for the GC Ministerial Association. “Revival means transformation. Reformation means surrender.” Mason noted that the Ministerial Association has launched several initiatives like Back to the Altar, a discipleship series that teaches members how to live out their faith from the home to the church to the community.

To engage members as active participants in theological education, Mason noted that resources are widely available, including book like Live Like Elijah, God Still Lives (stories of faith and trust, and Daring to Ask for More (deepening prayer life). All are available at RevivalandReformation.org and BacktotheAltar.org.

The stories behind the movement are powerful. As Mason opined, in one African division the tithe rate jumped from 23 percent increase to 103 percent in a year, a move leaders attributed to preaching revival and reformation and praying with members.

The focus is clear: theology must be lived, not just learned. Revival and Reformation ensures that members, regardless of age or education, have access to resources that make the Bible real and relevant in daily life.

A Unified Vision

Barnes put it bluntly: “People say theology doesn’t matter. I disagree. Theology drives everything. Even wars like Israel and Gaza have theological roots. Bad theology leads to bad policy.”

That’s the thread running through the seminaries, the BRI, Revival and Reformation, and pastors: theology is the foundation of justice, compassion, leadership, and worship. It shapes how we mourn, how we lead, how we preach, how we serve. The GC Session 2025 exhibit hall is showing the church’s full embrace of this reality.

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.