Delegates to the Mid-America Union Conference’s 10th quinquennial constituency session elected administrators and executive committee members on September 13, 2026, to serve five-year terms.
Nearly 320 representatives from the Central States, Dakota, Iowa-Missouri, Kansas-Nebraska, Minnesota and Rocky Mountain conferences gathered at the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, under the theme “One In Christ: United For Service.” In addition to electing leaders, delegates also reviewed and voted changes to the union’s constitution and bylaws, largely editorial in nature.
The session began with worship as Union Adventist University shared beautiful musical selections, followed by an inspiring devotional from North American Division resident Dr. G. Alexander Bryant. Bryant reminded delegates that God’s mission unites us, much like the interconnected roots of the great redwood trees, which draw strength from one another. The opening worship concluded with prayers for God’s presence and guidance throughout the session.
The MAUC nominating committee, chaired by Bryant, met in person on August 2 to select names to present to delegates for the officer positions (president and two vice presidents). The committee met again a week later by Zoom to complete their work. Delegates received packets containing the nominating committee report and all other pertinent information for the session three weeks prior to the event.
Delegates expressed strong confidence in the Union’s leadership, voting overwhelmingly to elect Dr. Hubert J. Morel Jr. as president and Dr. Craig Carr as vice president for administration for the next five years. Morel received 85 percent approval, while Carr received 89 percent. Elder Roy Simpson was returned to the position of vice president for finance with 98 percent approval. Voting for personnel was conducted using electronic voting devices.
From left: Elder Roy Simpson, VP of Finance; Dr. G. Alexander Bryant, President North American Division; Dr. Hubert J. Morel Jr., President; Dr. Craig Carr, VP of Administration/Executive Secretary
Morel is the 8th president to serve the Mid-America Union Conference. His term begins immediately.
Morel spoke briefly about the importance of the mandate to “occupy” until the coming of the Lord.
“We must utilize the resources we have to grow the kingdom of God until He returns,” stated Morel.
ADDITIONAL LEADERS ELECTED
Delegates also elected the following individuals to the MAUC executive committee for 2026-2031:
Mid-America Union Ex Officio:
Hubert J. Morel, Jr., Craig Carr, Roy Simpson
Central States:
Cryston Josiah, Bern Yuot, Bertha Garduno, Dwayne Williams, one additional TBD
Dakota:
Vernon Herholdt, Richard Ray, Harold Chin, Kelli Wasemiller
Iowa-Missouri:
Lee Rochholz, Kent Dunwoody, Abelardo Rivas, Steve Bascom, Matt Cook
Kansas-Nebraska:
Ron Carlson, Jim Jensen, Simon Liversidge, Brad Moutray
Minnesota:
Jeff Scoggins, James Davis, Jeff Deming, Denzil McNeilus, Yvon Fils-Aime
Rocky Mountain:
David VandeVere, Nathaniel Gamble, Leonardo Jimenez, Jennifer Sigler, Liz Cornett
Union Adventist University
Yami Bazan
AdventSource:
Brad Forbes (through 12/2026), Andre McCloud (beginning 1/2027)
Christian Record Services:
Dexter Thomas
AdventHealth:
Brett Spenst, Sam Huenergardt
MAUC:
Donna Brown, one rotating department director
Legal Counsel/Religious Liberty (invitee) Darrel Huenergardt
Members were also elected for the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and the Association Board. The union’s departmental personnel will be appointed by the MAUC executive committee in November.
SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY
A constituency session is similar to a shareholder meeting of a publicly held company. Each local conference elects delegates for this session; the number they send is based on their membership size. They are also invited to submit agenda items for the session and suggestions for the constitution and bylaws committee.
Reports on church membership showed a slight gain, and the union received a clean financial audit from auditors at the General Conference. All reports are available at outlookmag.org as articles or on OUTLOOK’s YouTube in video format.
Dr. Yami Bazan, president of Union Adventist University also presented a report since their constituency session occurred on the same day, and attendees were delegates to both sessions.
Additional representatives from the North American Division were in attendance, including Judy R. Glass, treasurer, and Kyoshin Ahn, secretary.
SPIRIT OF COOPERATION
Delegates expressed appreciation for the level of pre-planning and organization that made processes clear and easy to understand—from registration, to proposed changes to the bylaws, to financial business.
“I liked that there was a spirit of cooperation and oneness of mission,”
said a first-time delegate.
“It was encouraging to see.”
Thanks was expressed to retiring Dr. Gary Thurber for his leadership as MAUC president for the past 11 years. During his final remarks, Thurber said.
“It’s been an honor to serve you and I love you all…We are known as Christians when we love our neighbor. Let Mid-America be the place where the people love one another and the people trust God.”
BEYOND REPORTS AND VOTES
As always, there is more than business reports and votes at constituency sessions. The session is also a celebration highlighting mission, evangelism and the blessings of the Lord in the past five years. It is a time to reflect on the accomplishments and activities of the departments. It is also an opportunity to analyze the state of the MAUC—organizationally, financially and statistically—and consider how next to advance the work of the church throughout the region.
The Mid-America Union is currently comprised of 67,813 members, 554 congregations, 63 ECE/elementary/secondary schools and one university in its nine-state territory. In addition, there are 21 Adventist Community Services centers, 10 hospitals and 8 camps.*
*as of June 30, 2026
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