St. Louis, Missouri, United States…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
As part of the business meetings taking place during the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s 58th General Conference Session, world church leaders for the next five years will be chosen. Today the 13 regional divisions of the world wide church met in their respective caucuses to define their nominating committee delegates. Inter-America, with its 250 delegates of the 2,000 to the session, did just that on June 30, 2005.
Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America, met with the IAD delegation to explain and discuss procedures previously voted to determine the 25 delegates who will represent the 2.5 million members in the nominating committee.
“In order for all the unions to be represented, because our unions vary in membership from the largest 273,506 to the smallest membership of 23,000, and we want all to be represented, all union presidents will be part of the nominating committee,” Pastor Leito said.
The 25 delegates include 15 union presidents, one from an institution and 9 extra delegates.
Pastor Leito went on to say that all the unions with the largest membership will be able to have an extra delegate from their territory, which will include delegates such as lay people, women, pastors, and conference administrators, as previously voted by the Division Executive Committee.
Unions which will get an extra delegate include: Caribbean, Colombian, Dominican, Haitian, Mid-Central American, North-Central American, South Central American, South Mexican and the West Indies Union.
Once each union determined its extra delegate, all 25 names were submitted to the General Conference Secretary before the end of the day to continue the process of election of world church leaders.
Pastor Leito concluded the meeting, explaining that next Wednesday, July 6, the IAD nominating committee would be appointed to elect the rest of the Division personnel once IAD officers are voted. Once the names are submitted by the nominating committee of the IAD, the Division delegates will vote electing their departmental leaders.
