Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders from across the church in the Inter-American Division (IAD) voted today to hold elections of its department heads this April during the mid-year business meetings of its executive committee. Department heads are normally elected during each General Conference Session, but the unusual move was made because, due to the pandemic, the Session, rescheduled for May of this year, was postponed until June 2022.
The vote to move the elections up was held during a virtual conference and was nearly unanimous.
The General Conference Executive Committee in view of the Article XI of its bylaws gave authorization for divisions to appoint associate officers, field secretaries, department directors and associates before session for the term that ends in 2025, church administrators said.
Inter-American Division Administrators Pastor Elie Henry (center) president, Filiberto Verduzco (left) treasurer, and Pastor Leonard Johnson (right, executive secretary, during Inter-America’s Executive Committee Meeting held via the Zoom platform, today, Jan. 26, 2021. [Photo: Osman Longa/IAD]
“We have talked to you union leaders and our departmental directors recently and we believe that this vote can help us move forward as a church focused on the comprehensive strategic plan to continue preaching the Word of God with the ‘I Will Go’ initiative this quinquennium,” said Pastor Elie Henry, president of the church in Inter-America. “We must be bold in doing the Lord’s work.”
The procedure to elect or appoint officers will be the usual one, added Pastor Henry. According to the Working Policy B 05 15: The General Conference has delegated to the Division Executive Committee the authority to appoint associate officers, field secretaries and departmental directors/secretaries and associates to serve within its territory. The Division Executive Committee may appoint its own nominating committee to operate under the chairmanship of the Division president for this purpose.”
