4 July 2025 | St Louis, USA [David Neal]
As the General Conference (GC) Session opened in St Louis, Missouri, USA, delegates gathered for a time of praise and worship, followed by the routine business agenda typically addressed at the outset: the seating of delegates, the adoption of new Unions into the structure of the global Church, the setting up of the Nominating Committee, and the approval of the Session agenda.
A considerable amount of discussion ensued regarding the proposed Session agenda, as several amendments were considered. One such amendment came from a South Pacific Division delegate, who moved “to add to the agenda a review and discussion of the 2015 General Conference ADCOM statement encouraging immunisation—specifically, the claim that the Adventist health message is grounded in peer-reviewed scientific literature, in addition to the Bible and the writings of Ellen White.”
In response, Elder Ted N C Wilson insisted that the church leadership had never mandated vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic; instead, it had offered recommendations. The 2021 statement affirms individual choice, urging personal research, prayer, and consultation with healthcare providers. He also went on to suggest that there is a very small minority of “people who like to twist and misuse anything you say.…” He continued, “My brothers and sisters, I would urge us not to be involved in conspiracy approaches, and while all have the right to their opinion… it is a very small minority of people within the two 23-plus million church members who have continued to agitate about erroneous and misleading information.”
All proposed amendments seeking a detailed discussion of this matter at the GC Session were unsuccessful. However, on Friday, 4 July, Elder Wilson issued a correction and apologised for an incorrect version of the 2015 statement that had been posted online. Further details of the correction can be found here.
By Thursday evening, the mood of the Session changed as Wilson, in his capacity as the incumbent president, shared his report, giving a global overview of the church from 2022 to 2025. In an upbeat report (a mixture of speech and video), he shared stories from around the world of how the mission of the church has expanded over the last three years. The report begins with the recent tremendous growth of the church in Papua New Guinea, and then travels across the 13 world divisions demonstrating the Spirit at work.
“We give God all the glory for what He has done through you, members and leaders of His remnant church,” Wilson concluded.
Featured image: Ted N C Wilson presenting his report to Session delegates about the activity of the church 2022-2025. [Photo: James Botha, Adventist Media Exchange]
