San Antonio’s Alamodome more resembled the United Nations than it did a sports arena as tens of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists, many in native costumes, celebrated the advance of Adventist mission over the past 152 years. The Parade of Nations, traditionally one of the highlights of the last weekend of a General Conference Session, had a new name designed to reflect the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s progress in mission outreach.
Delegates approved revisions to the Church Manual to reinforce the Adventist understanding of marriage to refer specifically to a “lawfully binding lifelong commitment of a man and a woman.” The Church Manual article “Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage” refers to the origination of the marriage institution in Eden and mentions the union between Adam and Eve as “the pattern for all future marriages.”
General Conference leadership has agreed to work with the Biblical Research Institute on a study that informs the world church about the biblical principles of interpretation as the Seventh-day Adventist Church sees them. General Conference undersecretary Myron Iseminger, making the announcement on July 10, the last day of business meetings at the General Conference Session in San Antonio, Texas, also told delegates that the Biblical Research Institute “is already studying the issue and has plans to publish their findings” in an updated edition of a book on the subject.
Seventh-day Adventists impressed San Antonio’s mayor by providing $20 million in free healthcare to local residents in April, three months before the opening of the 2015 General Conference session. The 65,000 Adventists who attended the July 2-11 session delighted local businesses by spending more than $40 million.
San Antonio Mayor Ivy R. Taylor thanked Seventh-day Adventists for bringing the free healthcare and the 2015 General Conference session to her city — and said she looked forward to reading a brand-new copy of Steps to Christ. General Conference president Ted N.C. Wilson, speaking at a closing meeting of the 10-day convention at the Alamodome stadium on Sabbath evening, expressed gratitude to Taylor for the warm reception that San Antonio offered its 65,000 Adventist attendees.
Ted N.C. Wilson, speaking in his first sermon after his re-election as General Conference president, urged Adventists to press ahead in unity in proclaiming Jesus’ soon return. Wilson drew from hallmark initiatives of his first five-year term — Revival and Reformation, Mission to the Cities, comprehensive health ministry, and a daily online Bible study plan — to call on every church member to share Jesus in their communities.
General Conference president Ted N.C. Wilson said Friday that a vote this week on the issue of women’s ordination meant “we maintain the current policy.” Wilson told delegates at the General Conference session in San Antonio, Texas, that Wednesday’s vote simply barred the church’s world divisions from making decisions on the ordination of women.
Aspecial mission offering that will be collected during the General Conference (GC) session’s second Sabbath worship service, July 11, 2015, will challenge attendees to put their money where their mouth is. The money is slated to fund thousands of youth-driven mission projects worldwide.
Waylon Johnson sits in quiet awe inside the Alamodome as he witnesses the way the church leadership makes decisions to further the work of the church around the world. Johnson won a free trip to the 60th General Conference session in San Antonio, Texas, after winning a Bible Bowl competition in his church in Freeport, Bahamas.
Days after the General Conference voted to re-elect Pastor Israel Leito as president of the church in Inter-America, Dr. Elie Henry was re-elected as executive secretary and Filiberto Verduzco was re-elected as treasurer of the Inter-American Division (IAD).
Visually impaired President of the Senate in Jamaica the Hon. Floyd Morris was recognized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for his life of courage, service to his country and faithfulness to the Church during a luncheon held in his honor at the Henry B. Gonzales Center in San Antonio, Texas on July 2, 2015.
Delegates turned down a motion that would have allowed each division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to decide for itself whether to ordain women to the gospel ministry in its territory. By a margin of 1,381-977, with five abstentions, delegates by secret ballot ended a five-year process characterized by vigorous and sometimes acrimonious debate.