Church Leaders Call to Trust God, Enjoy His Blessings Among Major Challenges

Spring Meeting highlights the joy, challenges of the global Seventh-day Adventist Church.

April 14, 2026 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review

“Good morning for all those who are in the General Conference Auditorium!”

General Conference (GC) president Erton Köhler greeted the scores of regional leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church gathered at the world headquarters for the annual Spring Meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, April 14.

“And good afternoon or good evening for those who are watching this meeting online!” he added. “When you give your time and your talents to be part of meetings like these—to support the mission of the church, to defend and share the message the Lord has entrusted to us—you are serving the Lord, and you are supporting the church.”

Multiple Time Zones

Unlike Annual Council, the largest annual business meeting of the Adventist Church every fall, GC bylaws allow a sizable number of GC Executive Committee (GC EXCOM) members to attend the Spring Meeting and vote from an off-site location. The hybrid meetings, which take place April 14-15 from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., mean that members from about a dozen time zones can also participate. In a truly worldwide church it means that the meetings start at 4:00 a.m. for someone watching the proceedings from California. On the other side of the world, the meetings for those participating and voting from South Korea start at 8:00 p.m., and at 9:00 p.m. for those in Sydney, Australia. For those members participating from New Zealand, meetings go from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. the following day!

“I want to remember members who are off-site, watching the proceedings online: you are an integral part of these meetings,” Köhler told members. Besides GC EXCOM members and invitees (who can participate in the discussions but do not vote), the meetings are open to any church member who wishes to watch the live stream.

“We are here to analyze, to receive reports, and to discuss various topics,” Köhler said. “But above all, we are here to serve the Lord.”

Köhler explained that the first day of meetings would be devoted mostly to financial matters. The second day will focus on OneVoice27, an initiative to commemorate, in September 2027, 2,000 years since Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of His earthly ministry, mobilizing all church media, leaders, and members to make an impact around the world by sharing God’s message as has never been done before.

God’s Promised Presence

GC secretary Rick McEdward reminded GC EXCOM members that as they gather, “it is very clear and evident that the world is in a different place than it was five or 10 years ago.” He added, “The world around us is chaotic, but here as the leaders of the church . . . we are committed to serving the Lord, His church, and the world by letting the mission be known—letting Jesus be known in all the nations.”

McEdward quoted Psalm 5:11, 12: “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.” He added, “God has promised to be with us as we counsel [and] as we do mission together.”

No Need to Fear

GC treasurer Paul H. Douglas also welcomed church leaders on site and those following the proceedings from around the world. “Thank you for the leadership you bring to God’s church,” he told them. “God has been good,” Douglas added, as he thanked the Lord for His blessings ahead of the financial report. “We can rejoice in the resources He has provided so we can go about the work to which He has called us,” he said. “There’s nothing that we need that we do not have.”

Douglas told regional church leaders that as they face challenges—wars all around us, difficulties of serving in different places—everyone should be encouraged by God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah: “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine’ ” (Isa. 43:1).

“So take courage,” Douglas told leaders, “because God has called you.”

Not by Accident

After the legal opening proceedings and congregational singing, Ivan Omaña, General Conference director of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, prayed for everyone involved in the meetings and the wider church. “We approach the throne of grace aware that we are not here by accident but by Your calling,” Omaña prayed. “You are the God of mission, the one who seeks, sends, and saves.

Referencing the “sacred responsibility” of church leaders, Omaña prayed for the Lord to align our hearts with His. “Before strategies, before reports, before decisions, bring us back to Your altar. Remind us that the mission is not something we own, but something we join. Teach us what it means to be truly integrated for mission. . . . Lead us, guide us, and remain with us,” he prayed.