The global SDA Church elects a new leader
…Erton Kohler becomes first South American to lead the global body
Lusaka, July 4, 2025
The 62nd Session of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church has elected Erton Kohler to lead the global body. Replacing Ted Wilson, an American, Kohler becomes the first South American to hold the position which has traditionally been held by Americans.
Meeting in the US city of St. Louis, Missouri, for the church’s global business meeting which occurs every five years, close to 2000 delegates representing a global population of over 20million Adventists, voted overwhelmingly for Kohler.
Up until now serving as the Executive Secretary of the SDA Church at its Head Quarters in Maryland, Washington, DC, Kohler has been a pastor since 1990 serving in different positions. A Brazilian of German descent, Kohler took up pastoral work following in his father’s footsteps.
Married to a nurse, the father of two children holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology and a master’s degree in Pastoral Theology from the Brazilian Adventist University. He is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry degree from Andrews University of the SDA Church.
Born in 1969, Kohler assumes a global movement that was officially organized in 1863 with a focus on preparing the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ. With a strong outreach program marked by personal and corporate evangelistic activities, the SDA Church continues to plant churches in every part of the world.
Administratively, the Adventist church consists of the General Conference as the highest executive organ with Head Quarters in Washington, DC, 13 Division offices overseeing large geographical areas consisting of several countries and serving as extensions of Head Quarters, Union Conferences at national level, and local conferences that administer several local churches.
Every five years, delegates from these structures meet at a designated place, traditionally in the US, in a general conference session where the business of the global body of Adventists is discussed, policy decided, theological issues debated, social issues confronting the church addressed, and the executive leadership decided.
One of the major items on the agenda for this year is the amendment of the Church Manual which addresses a variety of administrative issues related to local congregations simply known as the local church. This is the heartbeat of the church where its mission of evangelizing the world takes place.
In recent years, the church has been faced with issues that other religious denominations have been dealing with, chief among them, the ordination of women which it has not approved, a move that has threatened the unity of the global movement. Over the course of its history, the SDA Church has been called upon by its members to provide Bible-based guidance on such matters as church members and combat roles in the military, abortion, immunization, gun violence, gender-based violence, homosexuality, genetic engineering, artificial insemination, voting, political participation, plastic surgery, and much more.
Given the dynamic nature of modern society and the multiple challenges for the application of Biblical principles, the church has normally guided its members to also rely on their own conscience believing that God will guide every genuine seeker of His will.
Other than the election of the world church leader, this year’s session will also elect several other positions which include several vice presidents, the executive secretary, and the treasurer, among others.
This year’s session takes place from the 3rd to the 12th of July 2025, under the theme, “Jesus is coming, I will go”. The outgoing church leader Ted Wilson said of the theme, “reminds us of our wonderful hope in the soon coming of our savior and the importance of answering God’s call to go wherever He may lead to reach the world for Him”.