When the General Conference session for the Adventist world church assembles for a church business session every five years, delegates are sent to represent a ministry territory.
Each GC session has a designated number of delegates that are assigned to each of the unions within the 13 divisions worldwide.
North Pacific Union is asked to send 16 delegates. Delegates are in two categories: nine administrative delegates representing conferences and the union; and seven non-administrative delegates, including lay members, pastors and teachers. Lay members are recommended by conference-level executive committees or boards of trustees to the NPUC executive committee.
- Administrative delegates typically include conference presidents — although the conference president can identify a designer, such as a vice president for administration — and union-level executive officers.
- Non-administrative delegates who are identified as lay members typically include a pastoral representative, a teacher representative, a higher education representative and members who do not work for the church.
Additional considerations in the delegate formula include entity (union or conference represented), ethnicity, gender and young adult age.
All conference and higher education entities for NPUC are represented in this year’s delegate list.
The Northwest delegation includes at least one representative of Asian descent, one of Black or African descent, two of Hispanic or Latino descent, two of White or European descent, and one who is multiracial, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, or from another background. Additionally, the selection ensures a minimum of three women and one young adult.
“Each delegate represents a leader who brings spiritual maturity and discernment to their role,” said John Freedman, NPUC president. “We are grateful for their service in representing the ministry and mission of the Pacific Northwest to the world church.”
North Pacific Union Conference
- John Freedman, president
- Bill McClendon, vice president for administration
- Jeff Fogelquist, chief financial officer
Alaska Conference
- Rodney Mills, president
- Danya Nicketa, lay member
Idaho Conference
- David Prest, president
- Hector Perla, lay member
Montana Conference
- Jim Jenkins, president
- Phillip Neuharth, pastor
Oregon Conference
- Kara Johnsson, vice president for administration
- Karl Newsome, lay member
Upper Columbia Conference
- David Jamieson, president
- Erna Marquez, lay member
Washington Conference
- Doug Bing, president
- Hazel Byeon, teacher and young adult representative
Walla Walla University
- Alex Bryan, president
