WHAT IS A CONSTITUENCY SESSION?
All members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are part of a constituency, which is defined as a group of voters in a specified region who elect representatives to a legislatorial body. In this case, church members of the Mid-America Union Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, have designated 389 regular delegates who will represent them during the tenth quinquennial constituency session on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026.
Typically, unions hold their constituency sessions the year after a General Conferences Session. Once a date is set, planning begins well in advance–about 15 months before the session is held. In addition to logistical planning, important policy deadlines must be met for a session to take place. Required notifications and proposed changes to the union’s constitution and bylaws must be prepared and properly distributed within specific timeframes.
WHAT HAPPENS AT SESSION?
As required by our Bylaws, every five years delegates elect union leadership, receive reports from union leaders and entities, and vote on general decisions and church business. Reports on finances, church membership, audits and other statistics are also received and voted. Additionally, the delegates will vote on proposed changes to the union’s Constitution and Bylaws.
Beyond a gathering to conduct church business, this meeting invites delegates and members alike to listen carefully to reports and other information and to earnestly seek God’s leading for the next chapter in our journey.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
It’s about accountability. The union president, vice presidents and department directors will present reports and be available for questions. The president of Union Adventist University will also give a report, since UAU’s Constituency Session is joined with the Mid-America Union’s.
But there’s more than business reports and votes! It’s also a celebration highlighting mission, evangelism and the blessings of the Lord in the past five years. It’s an opportunity to analyze the state of the Mid-America Union Conference—organizationally, financially and statistically—and to cast a vision for how best to advance God’s work in the heartland of America.
WHO IS REPRESENTING ME?
Please contact your local conference for a list of the delegates they selected from your area.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT GETS VOTED?
Visit OUTLOOKmag.org or follow OUTLOOK’s Facebook: facebook.com/OutlookMag/
WHY DO UNIONS EXIST?
All levels of Adventist organization ultimately exist to support local churches and schools—from the General Conference with its world divisions, to the union conferences and the local conferences, to which the churches belong. The main role of the union is to strengthen its local conferences and institutions.
Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Mid-America Union Conference facilitates the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church throughout a nine-state region in the Mid-western United States. Organized into six local conferences, our territory spans Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and San Juan County in New Mexico.
The Mid-America territory currently includes over 67,000 church members in more than 500 churches or companies, as well as 65 elementary and secondary schools, one university, nine summer camps and a number of youth and young adult programs.
The union conference serves by providing assessment tools, facilitating collaboration, offering mentoring and training, and providing a layer of communication and accountability between local conferences and the global church structure.
Union conferences are also shared service centers for teacher training and certification and school accreditation, regional Pathfinder camporees, ministerial conventions, religious liberty services, low-cost loans to build or renovate churches and schools, and coordination of humanitarian aid through Adventist Community Services. Each year, MAUC organizations sponsor dozens of programs and projects that address human needs, improve quality of life and introduce people to Jesus.
In addition, union leaders provide counsel and support for the Board of Trustees of higher educational institutions, maintain lines of accountability with Adventist healthcare institutions, and publish the union paper that helps members be aware of and celebrate what God is doing in each territory.
The Mid-America Union Conference would like to thank each member of the Executive Committee and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee for their term of service (during Sept. 2021-2026):
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Central States Conference
- Gary Collins
- Joseph Ikner
- Cryston Josiah
- Natalie Swift
- Dwayne Williams
Dakota Conference
- Darla Anderson
- Vernon Herholdt
- Darren Purdy
- Lynnette Struntz
Iowa-Missouri Conference
- Steve Bascom
- Matt Cook
- Kent Dunwoody
- Lee Rochholz
- Tim Saxton
Kansas-Nebraska Conference
- Jeff Bovee
- Ron Carlson
- Larinda Fandrich
- Simon Liversidge
Minnesota Conference
- Marilyn Carlson
- Sharon Erickson
- Eric Mokua
- Jeff Scoggins
Rocky Mountain Conference
- Darin Gottfried
- Sam Miller
- Wayne Morrison
- Carol Turk
- David VendeVere
Mid-America Union Conference
- Donna Brown
- Darrel Huenergardt
- Hubert Morel, Jr.
- Gary Thurber
- Roy Simpson
Union Adventist University
- Yami Bazan
AdventHealth
- Sam Huenergardt
- Brett Spenst
Other Institutions in our Territory
- Brad Forbes (AdventSource)
- Dexter Thomas (Christian Record Services for the Blind)
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS COMMITTEE
Hubert Morel, Jr. (chair)
Darrel Hunergardt (secretary)
Joseph Ikner
Don Krassin
Robert Decker
Kent Dunwoody
Eric Mokua
Mary Lynn Green
Tyson Shaw
Kyoshin Ahn (NAD invitee)
