Welcome Delegates

There are three types of delegates:

Regular Delegates
Regular delegates are chosen by the local churches and companies of Southeastern California Conference. They are church members of the congregations they represent.

For more information see SECC Bylaws, Section 6.3, p. 3.

Alternate Delegates
Alternate delegates are chosen by the local churches and companies to step in and serve as a regular delegate in the event a regular delegate cannot attend the session. This is a pre-approved list of alternates submitted by the churches and companies, and voted by the conference executive committee.

Delegates-At-Large
Delegates-at-large are automatically delegates to the session based on employment or membership on various committees of the conference. These delegates include conference officers, conference departmental directors and associate directors, pastors hired by field budget (pastors who are locally hired are not delegates-at-large), school principals, and members of executive and bylaws committees.

For more information see SECC Bylaws, Section 6.3.a, p. 3.

Delegates-at-large are also officers of the Pacific Union Conference, the North American Division and the General Conference, as well as the Pacific Union Conference directors for ethnic ministries.

For more information see SECC Bylaws, Section 6.3.b, p. 3.

Delegates are chosen during a church business meeting prior to the Constituency Session and must be a member at that church.

For more information about how delegates are elected, see SECC Bylaws, Section 6.4.b, p. 4.

The bylaws of Southeastern California Conference give clear instructions about how many delegates each church and company sends to the session:

“Constituent congregations shall be represented at each Constituency Session by members they elect as regular delegates on the basis of one delegate for the constituent congregation and one additional delegate for each one hundred members or major fraction thereof…” (SECC Bylaws, Section 6.3, p. 3)

The bylaws also determine who is qualified to serve as a delegate-at-large.

For more information about delegate-at-large, see SECC Bylaws, Section 6.3.a, p. 3.

Following these guidelines we expect the following number of possible delegates at the session:
Regular delegates: 830
Delegates-at-large: 300

The Church Manual, on page 110, gives counsel of the duty of delegates:

“Delegates to a conference session are not chosen to represent merely the church or conference. They should view the work as a whole, remembering their responsibility for the welfare of the worldwide work of the Church… Each delegate should be susceptible to the direction of the Holy Spirit and vote according to personal convictions.”

There is additional counsel given in the November 25, 1873 Review and Herald by Ellen G. White:

“The importance of any meeting does not necessarily arise from the numbers of those present or the amount of discussion and speechmaking connected with it, but rather upon the weighty matters decided upon and the spirit of unison and love among those in attendance.”

1. We invite you to join us in praying for the session. Please pray with us for God’s Spirit to guide the planning and daily decisions that take place before our time together. We will also take time to pray together that day.
2. Please communicate with your church and pastor both before and after the session. You are representing your church. There will be reports and information given at the session that we hope you will communicate to your church.
3. Keep checking for updates on this site as we will continue to update the information regularly. It is designed to deliver all the information and materials related to that day: lists of delegates, new churches and companies to be accepted, the agenda for the session and materials pertaining to it, reports from nominating committee, departmental reports, financial summaries, suggested bylaws changes, and more. We encourage you to read through the content on this website in preparation for your participation. You will be given an additional packet at registration with a few basic documents. The church will have limited internet access for your laptops and tablets, so you might find it helpful to print materials that you want to reference during the meeting.
4. Get to know Robert’s Rules of Order. They will guide our way of conducting business at the session. Please familiarize yourself with the summary sheets. There will be a team of parliamentarians to assist us during the session. You will receive additional instructions for the day from the parliamentarians at the beginning of the day. The purpose of the rules is to facilitate participation by the delegates in discussions, debates, and the decision-making process. Thus the work of the session can proceed smoothly, expeditiously, and fairly. The Church is a voluntary organization of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We are not a parliamentary body, a political forum, or a party system. We meet, not to satisfy personal or party interests, but to discover and understand together God’s will regarding issues, plans, and appointments. At the session, we have an opportunity to participate in the mission of the Church to the world under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
5. If you become ill or have an emergency or for some reason are unable to attend the session as a delegate on October 1, 2023, please notify your pastor. Your pastor will then arrange for one of the previously selected alternate delegates to attend in your place and will instruct them to notify those registering delegates at the session which regular delegate they are replacing.