General Conference

First 2025 GC Session Sabbath Closes with a Story of Hope

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Tracey Bridcutt, Adventist Record, for ANN
Hope Channel International, hosting the Stories of Hope program at the evening worship on Saturday, July 5, 2025.

Hope Channel International, hosting the Stories of Hope program at the evening worship on Saturday, July 5, 2025.

Photo: Tor Tjeransen/Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)

The first Sabbath of the 62nd General Conference (GC) Session closed with an evening worship service hosted by Hope Channel International highlighting the story of Alan, a young man from the Dominican Republic.

Alan’s story is a part of the series Stories of Hope, which shares powerful first-hand accounts of lives transformed by the gospel. 

Raised by a single mother alongside two brothers, Alan had a deep passion for football and showed remarkable talent from a young age. The sport quickly became his life’s focus. However, he soon faced a difficult choice between pursuing a professional football career and honoring the Sabbath.

The club owner told him, “If you can’t play on Saturday, we can’t count on you,’" Alan recalled. “They closed many doors on me. It was very difficult.”

Yet, God opened a new path. Alan was given the opportunity to train young people in football. Not only has he helped them develop their athletic skills and achieve strong results, but he is also mentoring them spiritually. Some of the young players are now asking to be baptized.

“I understood that God had called me to something bigger than I had imagined,” Alan said.

Before listening to Alan’s story, Odalison Fonseca from the South American Division (SAD) gave a short sermon inspired by the words of Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 

During each evening worship, the Lord’s Prayer will be shared in a different language. Tonight, Gracie from Mexico recited the prayer in Spanish. 

Evening worships will take place each night of session at 7 p.m. inside the arena. All evening worship sessions through to Thursday, July 10, are hosted by Hope Channel International featuring a Stories of Hope video. 

Evening worships will be followed by division and union reports. Tonight's reports are given by the North America Division and the Middle East and North Africa Union Mission. 

For more information about the 2025 General Conference session, visit http://www.gcsession.org. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news.

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