News Articles

At General Conference Session, Adventist Connect Showcases Tools to Help Churches Reach Communities

July 11, 2025 | St. Louis, Mo. | Debbie Michel

At the General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, held July 3-12, 2025, Marshall McKenzie, associate director of Adventist Connect, has been busy sharing new resources designed to help local churches connect with their neighbors digitally and in person.

“People are coming by our booth, signing up, wanting to learn how to better reach their communities,” McKenzie said. More than 200 visitors, including leaders from conferences across North America, have expressed interest in bringing these tools back home.

Adventist Connect, formerly Adventist Information Ministry, is built around three components: Frame, Engage and Thrive.

Frame helps congregations transition to modern WordPress websites, replacing the older Adventist Church Connect platform. At the GC Session, tech teams have been on hand showing how easy it is to migrate church sites.

Engage goes beyond call centers. With prayer ads on Facebook, geo-fenced around local churches, teams start digital conversations that lead to prayer, deeper relationships, and often Bible studies. McKenzie pointed to a special initiative run in the St. Louis area leading up to the GC Session. “We had more than 2,000 conversations in just a month, and several non-Adventists came to nightly prayer meetings held right upstairs [at the session],” he said.

Thrive, an interest management system set to roll out this fall, helps churches keep track of these contacts, assign visits or Bible studies, and see spiritual growth on an easy-to-navigate dashboard. Live demos at the GC Session gave church leaders an opportunity explore how the system works.

While the main focus is North America, Adventist Connect has drawn interest from international delegates eager to adapt these ideas. “It’s about moving from digital to personal,” McKenzie said. “We’re giving local churches the tools they need to build real relationships — starting right here at the GC Session.”

— Debbie Michel is communication director for the Lake Union Conference and editor of the Lake Union Herald.

Blueprints for Mission: Innovation Meets Faith at GC Session Booths

At the GC Session, Walla Walla University wowed visitors with Phil and Paul — student-designed robots demonstrating real bioengineering research. The booth was one of several highlighting how science, faith, and service intersect through cutting-edge tissue regeneration technology.

In Response to Natural Disasters, Adventist Community Services Is Working to Assist Affected Communities

After the deadly tornadoes in May of this year, which caused widespread damage in Missouri and Kentucky, the Adventist Community Services (ACS) team continues to provide active support. In St. Louis, Missouri, there was significant property damage, and several lives were lost. In Texas, relief services are underway following deadly floods from early July. ACS Disaster Response has been working in those areas.

During General Conference Session Adventist Community Services and impact! st. louis Team Help Support Recovering Tornado Victims

Multiple levels of Adventist Community Services are joining forces with impact! st. louis, an initiative of the General Conference Youth Ministries department, to offer some relief to those still wrestling with the ramifications of the May 16 tornado. The Spanish church has been set up as a distribution center for food and other essential items. This and other community service efforts are running concurrent with the 62nd GC Session taking place downtown on July 3-12, 2025.

Healing Hands, Missional Hearts: Adventist Healthcare Systems Unite at GC Session 2025

At the heart of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s mission lies a deep commitment to healing — not just of the body, but of the whole person. That commitment was on display at the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri, where the five healthcare systems in the North American Division (NAD) united to present a compelling witness to medical ministry as an extension of gospel work.

St. Louis Residents Invited to Experience the Power of Prayer During GC Session

The theme of the 62nd General Conference Session is “Jesus is Coming, I Will Go!” This is the clarion call to illuminate the entire world with the three angels’ messages and the everlasting gospel. Like any city, St. Louis, Missouri, the session’s host, needs Jesus’ light, so several organizations, ministry leaders, and young people partnered together to implement a special week of prayer. Karen Glassford, director of the GC’s Digital Strategy for Mission, has been leading this initiative. She indicated this wasn’t the first time this type of community week of prayer has been activated.