30 June 2025 | St. Albans, UK [David Neal]
From July 3 to 12, 2025, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, will serve as the global in-person meeting point for the Seventh-day Adventist Church as it hosts the 62rd General Conference (GC) Session. Held every five years, this event is the primary governing assembly of the Church, uniting thousands of delegates, leaders, and members from around the world. More than a business meeting, the Session is a special moment in the life of the global Adventist family—a time of worship, fellowship, prayerful decision-making, and strategic visioning.
Under the theme “Jesus is Coming, I Will Go!”, the 2025 Session will reaffirm the hope and expectation of Christ’s return, as well as the Church’s commitment to sharing the good news about Jesus Christ.
Since the first Session in 1863, these gatherings have marked key milestones in the Church’s journey. Today, their purpose is to inspire faith, strengthen unity, and shape the future mission of the church, which still views itself as a movement, until Christ returns.
Significance For the Local Member?
However, does the Session business hold significance for members residing in the Trans-European Division (TED)?
While nearly 60,000–70,000 people will gather in St. Louis, millions more around the world will join online or through Hope Channel. From heartfelt worship and uplifting music to inspiring testimonies, reports, and global decision-making, the Session becomes more than an event — but a worldwide experience. Whether in the busy giant convention centre, or a quiet living room, we are reminded that we belong to something far greater than our local church—we are part of a global movement of faith and mission. In one sense we are saying, “this is who we are, these are our shared beliefs and values, and this is our reason for mission.”
Leadership, Representation and Church Manual Amendments
The Session is where the Church’s global and regional (division) leaders are elected, and significant decisions are made. While local church members may not be present as delegates, the outcomes can impact them. Elected leaders set the direction for the next five years, and decisions on policies and priorities influence local mission, governance, education, and evangelism.
A survey of the proposed agenda indicates that a significant amount of time is allocated to amending and updating the Church Manual. While this may seem a bureaucratic and laborious process for delegates, TED Field Secretary Ian Sweeney notes that “Church Manual amendments are essential for the life, health and unity of a global church.”
Reflecting on the continued relevance of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, Sweeney encouraged members to engage with its content — particularly Chapter 1, titled “Why a Church Manual?”, to better understand its origin and purpose. “The history is informative,” he noted, “and I suspect that many members do not bother to read it.”
Sweeney pointed especially to the insights of Ellen White, who recognised the necessity of church organisation as early as 1875:
“The church of Christ is in constant peril. Satan is seeking to destroy the people of God, and one man’s mind, one man’s judgment, is not sufficient to be trusted. Christ would have His followers brought together in church capacity, observing order, having rules and discipline, and all subject one to another, esteeming others better than themselves” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 445).
For Sweeney, this historic counsel underlines the Manual’s continuing role in supporting a united, orderly, and accountable church community.
Worth Viewing
The Session will be broadcast live on multiple platforms provided by Adventist News Network, Hope Channel Network , YouTube and the GC live events platform to name just a few.
In addition to the business sessions, the Session’s spiritual content includes music, preaching and mission reports. Here’s some that could be worth tuning into with European timings:
In addition to the business sessions, the Session’s spiritual content includes music, preaching and mission reports. Here’s some that could be worth tuning into with European timings:
Morning Worship
John Bradshaw, president and lead evangelist of It Is Written, will present a series of seven morning devotionals from July 4–11 (excluding Sabbath), titled: The Book, The Promise, The Model, The Sign, The Mystery, The Gift, and The Mission.
The series can be watched live at 13:00 (Iceland), 14:00 (United Kingdom and Ireland), 15:00 (Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, and the Balkans), and 16:00 (the Baltic States, Greece, and Cyprus). Every morning before the devotional presentation, viewers can experience a musical concert. To watch, tune in 30 minutes before the scheduled devotional time.
Musical Concerts
Every day during Session (except Friday 11 July) until the final Sabbath, there will be a musical concert which can can be watched live at 18:30 (Iceland), 19:30 (United Kingdom and Ireland), 20:30 (Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, and the Balkans), and 21:30 (the Baltic States, Greece, and Cyprus).
Evening Worship
Each evening at Session will consist of a time of worship called Stories of Hope followed by reports from around 13 world Divisions. The Trans-European Division presentation and video report is scheduled to be shown on Wednesday, July 9, at 19:40 (St. Louis time), at which time it will also be uploaded to the TED YouTube Channel.
Sabbath Worship (5 & 12 July)
The two-hour worship services on 5 & 12 July can be viewed live at 15:30 (Iceland), 16:30 (United Kingdom and Ireland), 17:30 (Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, and the Balkans), and 18:30 (the Baltic States, Greece, and Cyprus). To watch Sabbath School tune in 90 minutes before the scheduled Divine Service time for your region. The scheduled preacher on 5 July is Erton Köhler, Executive Secretary of the General Conference. The preacher on 12 July will be the duly elected General Conference president.
Prayer Matters
In a message to delegates to the Session, the current General Conference Officers make this note and appeal.
“Looking forward, we remember that “The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organised for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. . . Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theatre of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.”1
Let’s pray for God’s leading in a marvelous way at this General Conference Session, as we plead for the outpouring of the latter rain of the Holy Spirit in anticipation of the soon second coming of Jesus Christ.”
Explore more about the GC Session here.
For updates and stories during the Session from a TED perspective, stay tuned to tedNEWS.
Featured image: A view of the delegates at the 61st Session, St. Louis 2022
Photos: Jimmy Botha & Tor Tjeransen, [Adventist Media Exchange CC BY 4.0], David Neal
- 1Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 9,12
- Full details about the Session can be found here
