Personal Connections at the Heart of GC Session 2025

Delegates share messages, collect pins, and capture the global church through fresh eyes.

July 15, 2025 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

At this year’s General Conference Session in St. Louis, one thing was clear—whether delegates or guests, attendees came not only for business and worship, but to connect.

For many, it was a chance to rekindle old friendships, make new ones, and share meaningful moments with fellow believers from around the world. Beyond the conversations and handshakes, the session was a unique opportunity to experience how a global faith community operates—and to explore the vibrant Exhibit Hall filled with church organizations and independent ministries from every corner of the globe.

A Time to Connect

For Pastor David Maldonado, the session wasn’t just another global event—it was a deeply personal opportunity to capture something lasting. Nearly a year and a half before arriving in St. Louis, he received a leather-bound notebook embossed with the Seventh-day Adventist Church logo and immediately had an idea. “I’m going to use it to collect a message from each country,” he said, “as tangible proof that we are one big family all over the world.”

Maldonado, president of the Gulf Mexican Conference under the North Mexican Union, has served the church in Mexico for decades. This marked his fourth GC Session, each one holding a unique purpose. “The first time, I just went with the flow—it was something special. The second time, I brought others along so they could enjoy it; I was kind of a guide. The third time, I focused on taking photos. And for this one,” he said, “I wanted something handwritten, something human, from the people I meet.”

A Notebook of Nations

Armed with his notebook—carefully divided into 13 sections to represent the 13 world divisions—Maldonado approached delegates across the main floor and in the Exhibit Hall, inviting them to write a note, share a favorite verse, or leave a greeting from their country. “I haven’t had any obstacles communicating, no matter what language they speak,” he said. “Except for one brother from Russia who didn’t speak English or any language I understood—but he still wrote something. I loved that.”

He was deeply moved by how delegates responded. In some groups, he said, “they would grab the notebook and start calling out: ‘Kenya! Nigeria!’—so people could come sign it. It moved me deeply.”

Each message, he said, was a work of art. “They’re all handwritten in a unique way. Most everyone can communicate somehow, and that’s made it easy—and fun.”

Maldonado was especially fascinated by the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, which includes countries like the Philippines, Korea, and Japan. “Each one had a completely different language and message. I would pull out Google Translate to read them,” he said with a smile.

Pins with a Purpose

For Magda Salinas, who works at the Inter-American Division, attending the General Conference Session for the fifth time meant more than just reuniting with old friends or witnessing how ministries have grown.

She first came to St. Louis in 2005. Since then, she has experienced the many joys the GC Session brings—uplifting messages, powerful music, vibrant programs, and colorful halls filled with souvenirs and mission resources. But this time, she came with a more personal mission: to connect more intentionally through the Exhibit Hall.

Passionate about color and design, Salinas enjoys watercolor painting, lettering, and sketching in her spare time. She’s also a longtime pin enthusiast—mostly from attending Pathfinder camporees in the North American and Inter-American Divisions—and this time she was on the lookout for stickers.

“To my surprise, I found that many booths actually had pins,” she said. “For the last ten years, I’ve really enjoyed this hobby—or maybe ministry, I’m not sure what to call it—but I didn’t imagine there would be so many here. I came prepared for stickers, but when I saw the pins, I got excited and said, ‘This is it.’”

Tiny Symbols, Big Messages

By the end of the week, she had collected 52 pins. But for her, it wasn’t about the number. “Each pin represents a conversation,” she said. “You can’t just hold out your hand and expect to receive one. You talk to people, ask about the design, and learn the story behind it. You learn about the ministry it represents. Each one carries a message.”

One of her favorites was a pin from El Centinela, a Spanish-language missionary magazine she grew up reading. “I loved its stories when I was a child, so that pin brought back a lot of memories,” she said.

She now estimates she owns more than 250 pins. And while she has her preferences—“I love the smaller, embossed ones more than the big flashy ones,” she said—the deeper meaning behind each one is what makes the experience so meaningful.

“Pins can be a witnessing tool,” she added. “Just like lettering can share a message of hope, pins can point to the soon coming of Jesus.”

From Skeptic to Storyteller

She smiled as she showed off one of her favorites: a license plate-style pin from the Jesus 101 ministry that reads “Jesus Wins!” Another reads “God Loves You”. Yet another from the GC Session simply states, “Jesus is Coming Again”. “They’re powerful reminders for me,” she said, “but they’re also great conversation starters with people who don’t yet know Jesus.”

Salinas admits she wasn’t always interested in events like GC Session. “Twenty-five years ago, my sister would invite me to come, but I wasn’t into it. I regret not going sooner,” she said. “When I finally came—right here in St. Louis—I was blown away. And now the growth of God’s work and the hundreds of connections you can make with people from around the world—it changes your perspective.”

She added, “When you’re in your local church or even within your conference, it’s hard to grasp the scale of our mission. But here, you see how the work moves forward globally.”

Once again, Salinas leaves inspired by the spiritual messages she heard throughout the session. One line that stayed with her came from Pastor Erton Köhler: “The church is called to be different, not distant.”

Through the Eyes of a Child

Six-year-old André Díaz—known to everyone as Andy—was all about really exploring the GC Session. His first time he was three years old. With so many interactive booths and the excitement of seeing where the church gathers to make global decisions, it was a full adventure. His parents, both part of the Hope Channel Inter-America team, bring him along on most trips. This time, they decided to involve him in a special project: a video documentary to share with his grandparents in Colombia and classmates back in Mexico, showing what a GC Session is like through the eyes of a child.

“We’ve always seen our media ministry as a family ministry,” said his mother Lizbeth Elejalde. “We don’t work individually—we work as a team, so we always try to include Andy in what we’re doing. Even when we’re just in the office, every project becomes a family project.”

What began as casual filming of Andy walking toward the dome and through the Exhibit Hall quickly turned into something more intentional. “He sees professionals doing their work and wants to do the same,” Elejalde said. So they gave him a microphone and camera time, and he took it from there—narrating his own GC Session experience, after a little help with the intro, she added.

Andy’s Tour of Discovery

“This is where all the adults gather for meetings—poor them, right?” Andy quipped on camera as he introduced the plenary hall. “The first thing I’ll tell you is you need to bring good shoes, because there’s a lot of walking!”

From there, Andy led his audience through the Exhibit Hall, highlighting everything from interactive booths to treehouse-themed setups, a 360° camera, and exhibits featuring Bible books and videos. At the Hope Channel Inter-America booth, he watched his dad filming messages and even took a turn behind the mic himself.

He lit up at the chance to try out gadgets and media tech, eagerly visiting every booth with a spinning wheel to win small prizes like a toy airplane or pencil case. One of his favorites was Hope Channel International’s language station, where he recorded his voice and heard it played back in Japanese, Chinese, Romanian, and other languages.

Andy also took part in health-themed activities, including touchscreen games that illustrated how water impacts the body, and enjoyed a virtual tour of creation week at the Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary. At the prophecy-themed booth featuring the symbolic beasts of the Books of Daniel and Revelation, he used his own money to buy a stuffed lion with wings, said Elejalde.

A Church for All Ages

Whether sitting on a kid-sized couch with a microphone in hand or making new friends around the Exhibit Hall, Andy experienced the GC Session as a place of connection and discovery—a church experience reimagined through a child’s eyes, his mother said.

And in his final video sign-off, he summed it all up:

“The GC Session is a gathering of people who believe the same as we do—that Jesus is coming soon! Goodbye!”

To watch Andy’s take on the 62^nd General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, go HERE