{"id":24153,"date":"2025-07-10T00:30:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=24153"},"modified":"2025-07-10T00:30:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T00:30:54","slug":"scotland-represented-by-one-voice-at-general-conference-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/scotland-represented-by-one-voice-at-general-conference-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland Represented by One Voice at General Conference 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>09 July 2025, St Louis, USA [<span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">Hellevi<\/span> <span class=\"outlook-search-highlight\" data-markjs=\"true\">Walker with <em>tedNEWS<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Standing alone among thousands of delegates at the 2025 General Conference Session, Laura Kazuwa represents the Scottish Mission\u2019s fewer than 1,000 members \u2014 proving that significance in the global church is not measured by numbers, but by faithfulness and presence.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"520\" data-end=\"794\">As the sole delegate from Scotland, Laura Kazuwa\u2019s participation affirms that even the smallest communities have a vital voice in shaping the church\u2019s future.<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Though surrounded by thousands, her voice carries the hopes and vision of a small but committed fellowship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"796\" data-end=\"1233\">Kazuwa shared that she initially felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of attendees and the<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>limited<span class=\"apple-converted-space\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>presence of young delegates. \u201cAs I went for lunch on the first day, I was overwhelmed by how many people there were. I didn\u2019t see many young delegates, which made me feel intimidated and alone,\u201d she said. However, she soon<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>connected<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>with delegates from the Trans-European Division (TED), the regional body covering parts of Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"1235\" data-end=\"1497\">Laura also noted the uneven youth representation across church divisions. \u201cOur division had just over 10 young delegates actively advocating for youth needs, but many other divisions had far fewer. I hope this improves at the next General Conference,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_42288\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"  data-origwidth=\"800\" data-origheight=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VQDHK6SrZEs?enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/ted.adventist.org&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"Scotland Represented by One Voice at General Conference 2025\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"1499\" data-end=\"1799\">\u201cThis week, we are reminded that influence is not measured by numbers, but by presence,\u201d said Pastor Jimmy Botha, President of the Scottish Mission. \u201cWhile Laura may be one delegate among thousands, she brings with her the prayers, stories, and vision of a community deeply committed to its calling.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"1801\" data-end=\"2030\">Kazuwa\u2019s willingness to step into an unfamiliar space and engage meaningfully reflects a key principle from<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><em data-start=\"1908\" data-end=\"1951\">The Secret to Transformational Leadership<\/em>:<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>leadership doesn\u2019t require a title \u2014 it begins with the courage to show up.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2430\">In a<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>world culture<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0where power and influence are often highlighted, the Scottish Mission serves as a reminder that smaller communities\u00a0<\/span>can also offer essential contributions:\u00a0through deep connection, relational leadership, and quiet faithfulness. \u201cPerhaps Scotland\u2019s strength lies in being small enough to be flexible, relational, and deeply connected to the people we serve,\u201d<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>said<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">\u00a0Botha.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>As Kazuwa takes her seat alongside delegates from around the world, she represents more than a vote \u2014 she embodies the hopes, vision, and commitment of the Scottish Mission. Her presence serves as a reminder that every voice matters in shaping the global church\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p>[Photos: James Botha, Adventist Media Exchange]<br \/>\nThe original version of this story was published on the <a href=\"https:\/\/adventist.scot\/news\/scotland-represented-by-one-voice-at-general-conference-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news site<\/a> of the Scottish Mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Significance is not meaured by numbers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1577],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-organisational-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24153"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24173,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24153\/revisions\/24173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}