The 2026 North American Division Annual Council concluded on November 3. The final session included union reports, ministry updates and other special presentations — including a prayer for leaders as the All Things New initiative begins in earnest.
Richard McEdward, executive secretary of the General Conference, led the morning devotional. Applying principles from Luke 5:1–11, he challenged attendees to be bold and willing to enter the deep waters, even if doing so seems futile and the only remotely worthwhile motivation is Jesus saying, “Go.” He reinforced this charge with testimonies from his missionary experience in the Middle East.
“Adam and Eve, the prince and princess of this world, gave over God’s ground to the enemy, and our job is to regain the ground person by person until the whole world hears!” McEdward exclaimed.
Marc Woodson, Pacific Union president, shared the gospel progress throughout the territory (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah). The Pentecost 2025 initiative was especially active in Las Vegas. An example was the Ten Commandments Basketball Camp at Vegas Valley Adventist Academy, which drew dozens of boys and girls from the community. Multiple young people ultimately sealed their decisions for Christ through baptism. Unionwide, there were nearly 4,000 baptisms this past year.
Judy Glass, NAD treasurer, through a video report, provided a behind-the-scenes look into how involved her department is in supporting the work of the church. This includes facilities maintenance and safety. Her team’s hope is “that all who enter our building see Jesus — in our words, our actions, and the way we treat people.”
Other areas of Treasury’s support includes cyber systems, event logistics and the multiple dimensions of financial oversight.
Ministry Efforts
The next feature was the Sabbath School ALIVE! collaborative. Bill Payne, NAD director of Sabbath School and Personal Ministries, forwarded the feedback he has heard from many council attendees about the tepid existence of Sabbath School in their local churches. He and the team desire to reverse that trend. Quoting from the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, Payne emphasized, “Sabbath School is the discipleship arm of the church.”
Rick Remmers, NAD assistant to the president, briefly updated attendees on the work of Adventist Laymen’s Services & Industries and literature evangelism. As a result of ASI’s partnership with Pacific Press Publishing Association, more than 120,000 sharing books were purchased between January and August. Other efforts amounted to the distribution of more than half a million books and booklets covering different themes.
“Together, ASI and literature ministry equip members, support local leaders and place opportunities to encounter Jesus in the hands of people throughout our division,” said Remmers. “We are together in mission.”
Vyacheslav Demyan, president of Hope Channel International (HCI), discussed the ministry’s role in advancing the All Things New campaign. He stressed how the ubiquity of media platforms is opening more and more doors of opportunity to disseminate the message of salvation worldwide. Anyone with a smartphone literally holds the capacity to win souls to Christ in their hands.
Demyan took attendees on a virtual trot around the globe, spotlighting various implementations of media evangelism in seven of the 13 Adventist divisions, from North America to the South Pacific. He also underlined some key statistics that verify the impressive presence HCI has established in the wider landscape of Christian broadcasting.
Demyan handed the mic to Rohann Wellington, NAD assistant to the president for Hope Channel North America, who succinctly cited Hope Channel Canada’s plans, Hope Channel North America, and Esperanza TV programming goals, to reach 49 million people by 2030, which will be part of HCI’s overall goal to reach one billion people within that timeframe.
Other noteworthy segments included a year-in-review summary of the work of NAD Multilingual Ministries and the plan for extensive distribution of the soon-to-be-released book Jesus Makes All Things New, including distribution during Global Youth Day (March 20, 2027). Additionally, the BLAST (Building Lives Around Solid Truth) project, which was conceived in Mountain View Conference, has fostered reinvigorating, unprecedented evangelism/discipleship success in the Ohio and Mountain View conferences.
Making the Impossible Possible
As Tuesday’s session and the entire council drew to a close, G. Alexander Bryant, NAD president, guided a reflection on the past several days. He expressed appreciation for everyone demonstrating a Christian spirit as they wrestled with arduous challenges. Specifically, he asserted that Jesus’ words “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37) are as true today as they were then. Not stopping there, Bryant quickly shifted focus to Jesus’ foundational solution: prayer (verse 38). He drove home the reality that it is the Holy Spirit who makes the impossible possible.
“[God] has given us two ways forward … [first] we have to pray our way out,” said Bryant. “Number 2, we have to grow our way out, by doing God’s mission.” He invited union and conference presidents and other leaders to stand up front as unified emblems of the dedication of the Adventist Church in North America altogether to fervently prepare the world for Christ’s imminent return. Those gathered received a gift book with their names on them.
Erton Köhler, GC president, issued the final charge. Pointing to Revelation 10 as “the birth certificate of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” he reminded everyone of Jesus’ call to prophecy again despite bitter disappointment. In general, any disappointment can become a springboard rather than a brick wall.
As important as this lesson is, Köhler admitted he concluded something even more crucial from his recent study. “The mission is the best remedy for all the challenges that we face,” he stated.
“My final appeal to you,” said Köhler, “let us live the mission with our feet on the ground, with our hearts in the mission, and with our eyes [on] heaven.”
– Journalist Iris Argueta and NAD Communication director Kimberly Luste Maran prepare for their Annual Council commentary broadcast.
– Union and conference leaders stand together up front as the 2026 NAD Annual Council draws to a close.
