NAD NewsPoints

NewsPoints April 19, 2023

April 19, 2023 | Columbia, Md. | North American Division

Adventist Camps Mark 100 Years with First General Conference Session Exhibit in the North American Division Booth

For the first time, Adventist camp ministry is being featured with a dedicated exhibit at the General Conference (GC) Session, highlighting 100 years of summer camps shaping young lives. Tracy Wood, Youth Ministries director for the North American Division, said this year marks a century since Adventist camps began in 1925 in Australia, with the second recorded camp held a year later in Michigan. “It started with boys by a lake learning about nature and earning honor badges long before Pathfinders even existed,” Wood said. “Now it’s a global ministry.”

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.

Pentecost 2025 Takes Center Stage: A Vision for Evangelism at the GC Session

Ken Sharpe stands at the bustling North American Division booth inside the General Conference Session exhibit hall, eager to share a message that’s taking hold across thousands of churches. As project manager for Pentecost 2025, Sharpe is helping steer an ambitious initiative designed to spark spiritual revival, community engagement, and ultimately, evangelistic growth.

“Pitching” It Forward

On Thursday, July 10, 2025, as the General Conference Session was winding down, G. Alexander Bryant wound up his pitching arm as he chose a different dinner venue — and experience — than the rest of the week. At 6:45 p.m. CT he threw out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game. It was a rare and deeply meaningful opportunity for the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America (NAD).

Overwhelmed and Empowered: A New Delegate’s Experience

The moment I stepped into America’s Center Convention Complex for the 62nd General Conference Session, I was swept into a current of humanity — so many people from so many places filling the facility. But this crowd felt different.