GENERAL CONFERENCE 2025: TEAM REPORT

The expected 4,000 delegates are reported to have been only 2,809 when the actual count was taken. The general publications indicated that 21 percent were women. One report added an interesting statistic that among the delegates under age 30, 69 percent were women. Regarding the GC reports, most were given by men but of the 130 elected positions, 19 were filled by women.

The newly elected General Conference President Pastor Kohler is quoted as saying “Women’s presence in leadership is not only needed – it is strategic. We have more women than men in our membership. And I would like to see more of them involved in leadership, in communities, and in many of our initiatives.”

Many persons stopped at the AAW/TEAM exhibit and not only had their photos taken but talked with us about the many women around the world currently serving. One GC official stopped by the exhibit to share that Pastor Crystal Ward was voted and elected as the first

woman to serve as a GC Ministerial Secretary.

Pastor Crystal E. Ward: https://interamerica.org/2025/07/i-am-just-a-willing-vessel/

In response, the AAW Representative Dr. Nerida Bates shared the following: “When someone mentioned that now there was a woman to care for the women ministers, President Kohler said, ‘There are no silos here. Everyone works for every minister.’” He is also

quoted as responding to the voting and election of the woman candidate: “Crystal Ward has authority over male ministers, too.”

The AAW and TEAM Exhibit for the 62nd General Conference session in St. Louis appears to have marked a step in the right direction for the original goal of the women who created the private organization Time for Equality in Adventist Ministry (TEAM) supporting the ordination of candidates to pastoral ministry regardless of gender, race, or social class. Thank you for the privilege of serving at the 62nd General Conference session in St. Louis.

Jeanette Bryson, PhD, Executive Director, TEAM