When 2,809 official delegates from around the world gathered in St. Louis for the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session, few realized they were sitting atop one of the most ambitious temporary technology deployments ever attempted by a faith community.

Behind the scenes, a small and determined team quietly transformed the America’s Center Convention Complex into a fully functioning “digital city” complete with enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, secure electronic voting, multilingual content access, real-time monitoring, and a sprawling network infrastructure.

A Vision That Evolved

Adrian Schmidt, director of Information Services (IS) for the GC, and the IS associate director, Gerardo Sangronis, have been at the heart of this invisible operation.

“We want the technology to be available but invisible,” Schmidt explained. “The same way no one notices when audio works, if we’ve done our job right, delegates won’t even know we’re here.” The journey to this vision began in 2015, when electronic voting was first introduced. In 2022, as the world emerged from the pandemic, GC adopted a hybrid model that presented challenges, such as connection failures, unclear workflows, and coordination gaps with third-party providers. These lessons shaped the 2025 approach.

“We started planning immediately after 2022,” Schmidt said. “By the time I joined over a year ago, the planning was already in motion. This event doesn’t just happen, it’s a year-long orchestration.” Sangronis nodded: the orchestration wasn’t just technical, it was strategic.

Building a Temporary Digital City

While fifteen trucks were used to transport materials from the GC headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, only thirteen shipping pallets contained the IT team’s equipment. The rest carried items for the GC exhibit and general office supplies.

“We practically moved entire offices here,” Sangronis said. The scale was staggering: 150 access points for Wi-Fi, over 100 monitors, 50 printers, 60+ network switches, and thousands of cables laid beneath the carpet to avoid tripping hazards. 

The team planned for 5,000 to 6,000 simultaneous device connections.

“Each delegate might bring a laptop/a tablet, and a phone,” Schmidt explained. “We had to be ready.”

To accommodate a global audience using both new and older devices, the team deployed two distinct wireless networks, one optimized for modern devices using the 5 GHz frequency band, and another for older equipment relying on 2.4 GHz.

“We wanted everyone to have the same reliable experience, regardless of what device they brought,” Sangronis said.

Voting at Scale

Perhaps the most mission-critical task was enabling real-time electronic voting for almost 3,000 delegates. The system, ElectionBuddy, is a cloud-based platform run by a Canadian provider. Each delegate received a personalized voting card with a QR code and PIN, securing their vote while preserving anonymity. 

The team ensured Wi-Fi coverage extended to the entire convention floor, even though front-row seating was preferred for delegates. “We didn’t want someone’s position in the room to affect their ability to vote,” Gerardo emphasized. Every vote cast was a quiet testament to months of planning, rehearsals, and invisible backend coordination.

A Global Team for a Global Church

While the core GC IT team on-site included just 14 people (including two volunteers), the mission was global. IT volunteers from each church division: Europe, West Africa, Kenya, South America, and more joined the effort.

“They came as volunteers, supporting delegates in their own languages and regions.”

Wearing matching gray jackets, the global tech crew became a living emblem of unity. “This wasn’t GC IT or Interdivision IT,” Schmidt said. “It is Adventist Technology, everyone working together for the church.”

Securing the Mission

With such a massive digital footprint, cybersecurity was non-negotiable. Delegate credentials, votes, and personal devices required strict protection.

“We did everything that was technically possible,” Schmidt said, pointing to real-time monitoring, firewall upgrades, redundant systems, and continuous software updates.

The servers remained in Silver Spring, but the team created a contingency plan in case anything failed, including backup servers and frequent, incremental database snapshots.

“You can have all the right systems and services,” Sangronis added, “but someone must be actively watching them. And we did. Every hour.”

Innovation in Everyday Ministry

Some of the tech upgrades were more visible to attendees. A ticketing system developed in-house allowed visitors to buy meal or event tickets online or by scanning QR codes at the door, reducing cash transactions and long lines.

The massive LED walls on the floor were integrated by the GC team, although provided by an external vendor.

“We also installed every iPad used to scan credentials at business meetings that save time.”

The Invisible Made Visible

Beyond the gadgets and servers, this deployment had a spiritual purpose.

“We don’t do technology for technology’s sake,” Sangronis reflected. “We do it so the mission can move forward. So delegates can vote, worship, and participate without distractions.”

Theological values such as transparency, stewardship, and inclusivity were "coded” into every decision, they say. By supporting seven simultaneous language streams, Wi-Fi equity, and anonymous voting, the IT infrastructure made Adventist values real. Every click, every streamed hymn, and every secure vote helped bring a global family together, without noise and without interruption.

Teardown began on Saturday night, July 13. In a few days all equipment will be gone. Some will return to Washington, others may serve future events. But the real legacy remains: a model of collaboration, a commitment to excellence, and a quiet testimony that in the digital age, even the most invisible work can illuminate the mission, they sharedc.

“Ultimately,” Schmidt concluded, “our goal is for the technology to be invisible so the message of Jesus can take center stage.”

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.