Victorian Conference Constituency Meeting

What is the purpose of the Victorian Conference Constituency Meeting?

Every four years (quadrennium), the Victorian Conference holds a Constituency Meeting to receive reports from elected officers and departmental leaders, to elect the leadership of the conference for the forthcoming quadrennium, and to discuss other agenda items that the Executive Committee put forward. 

A Constituency Meeting is part of the organisation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The world-wide church is organised on various levels, with each level having a defined membership, also known as a constituency. The constituency-based levels are as follows: Local Church Conference, Union, General Conference (see image).

The Constituency Meeting of the Victorian Conference brings together delegates (voting members) who represent each of the local churches that are part of the Victorian Conference. Members of various standing committees are also delegates (voting members) at the Constituency Meeting.

The delegates at the Constituency Meeting are expected to vote to elect the three Officers (President, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer), Nominating and Executive Committee members; adopt or modify the constitution; appoint members to serve on various committees; organise or dissolve churches; and transact other business as required. One of the most important aspects is the election of the Executive Committee, whose role is to function on behalf of the constituents during the interim between constituency meetings.

Each organised church within the Victorian Conference is able to elect delegates for the Constituency Meeting. These delegates must be members of the church which they represent. The number of delegates from each church is dependent on the number of members in the church. Currently, “each church shall be entitled to one delegate for the church, and one additional delegate for each 40 members or major fraction thereof….”. Delegates to represent a church are chosen at a duly called meeting of the local church.

One of the challenges we face as a Conference is to ensure that all delegates put forward by local churches do attend the Constituency Meeting to ensure that we have a quorum. 

Our constitution defines a quorum (the minimum number of delegates needed to conduct business) as, “At least sixty percent of the total number of the regular delegates appointed by their churches and the delegates at large that have confirmed attendance… must be present…” 

You may be able to think of times when your local church board may not have had a quorum, so was unable to conduct the meeting. This can also be a problem for a Constituency Meeting. We need all those appointed to be present to conduct God’s business at local church and Conference Constituency meetings.

Conference Constituency Meetings are a spiritual time together as well. The vision of the entire Conference is set for the next four years – challenges are given, reports are heard, and God is praised and glorified for His mighty work in His leading of our churches and Conference.

The upcoming Victorian Conference Constituency Meeting will be held on 21 September 2025 at 141 Central Road Nunawading in the newly completed Multi-Purpose Centre. We look forward to hosting all those elected by their churches to be delegates, and to celebrate how God has led and blessed His Church in Victoria over the past four years.