The more than 260 members of the General Conference Executive Committee are to meet later this month to discuss challenges, deal with business, and further the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.

The five-day meeting beginning September 26, known as Annual Council, convenes the highest decision-making body of the Adventist Church outside a full General Conference Session, which is held every five years.

The significance of the meeting can be measured by more than just the business items it considers, says Pastor Athal Tolhurst, undersecretary of the General Conference.

“This is a representative body and its meeting together symbolizes the international nature of our church family,” says Tolhurst. “The actions of this group impact the church worldwide and so it’s vital that the decision-making process is broadly inclusive.” 

Budget and policy issues make up the bulk of the agenda items. But members of the committee will also have a responsibility that arises only once every five years-the election of more than 30 General Conference personnel, who, by the terms of the church’s constitution, were not elected at this year’s General Conference Session in Toronto, Canada.  These include the editors and associate editors of General Conference publications such as the Adventist Review, Dialogue, and Ministry magazine.

The committee will also elect a director and associate directors of the Biblical Research Institute, along with the director of the General Conference’s Office of General Counsel.  Other elected positions include General Conference General Field Secretaries (who head up entities including Adventist World Radio, Global Mission, and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International). A new position of director of Leadership Training will also be filled.

The General Conference Executive Committee is composed of church administrators, pastors and laypeople representing all 12 world divisions of the Adventist Church.