General Conference Bulletin, vol. 1
GENERAL CONFERENCE CONSTITUTION
L. T. NICOLA
ARTICLE I.—NAME
THIS organization shall be known as the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.1
ARTICLE II.—OBJECT
The object of this Conference shall be to unify and extend the work of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination throughout the world. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.2
ARTICLE III.—MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1. This Conference shall be composed of such local Conferences of Seventh-day Adventists as are or may be properly organized, in any part of the world, under the direction of the Executive Committee; provided such Conferences shall have been accepted by vote at a session of the General Conference. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.3
SEC. 2. The legal voters of said Conference shall be such duly accredited delegates from the local Conferences, such members of the General Conference Executive Committee, and such other persons in the employ of the General Conference as shall receive delegates’ credentials from the Executive Committee, as are present at any duly convened regular or special Conference session. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.4
SEC. 3. Each local Conference shall be entitled to one delegate in the sessions of this Conference, without regard to numbers, and one additional delegate for every four hundred church-members in the Conference. Such delegates shall be elected by the local Conference, or appointed by its Executive Committee. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.5
ARTICLE IV.—OFFICERS
SECTION 1. The officers of this Conference shall be a President, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, an Educational Secretary, a Foreign Mission Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of eleven, of which the President shall be one. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.6
SEC. 2. The officers shall be elected at the regular sessions of the Conference, and shall hold their offices for the term of two years, or until their successors are elected, and appear to enter upon their duties. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.7
ARTICLE V.—SESSIONS
SECTION 1. This Conference shall hold a regular session every alternate year, reckoning from 1889, at such date and place as the Executive Committee shall designate by a notice published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, at least four weeks before the date of the session. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.8
SEC. 2. The Executive Committee may call extra sessions, if occasion requires, by a like notice; and the transactions of such sessions shall be equally valid with those of the regular sessions. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.9
ARTICLE VI.—TRUSTEES, COMMITTEES, AND AGENTS
The legal voters of this Conference, shall, at each regular session, elect the Trustees of such corporate bodies as are or may be connected with this organization, according to the State laws governing such corporations; and this Conference shall employ such committees and agents as it may deem necessary, according to the By-laws in such cases made and provided. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.10
ARTICLE VII.—BY-LAWS
The legal voters of this Conference may make By-laws, and amend and repeal them at any session thereof. The scope of such By-laws may embrace all subjects not inconsistent with this Constitution. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.11
ARTICLE VIII.—AMENDMENTS
The Constitution may be amended by a three-fourths’ vote of the legal voters present at any session; provided that if it is proposed to amend the Constitution at a special session, notice of the proposed amendments shall be given in the call for such special session. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.12
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I.—OFFICERS, COMMITTEES, AND AGENTS, — THEIR CREATION AND DUTIES
President. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.13
SECTION 1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Conference and of the Executive Committee, and appoint all committees not otherwise created. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.14
Recording Secretary. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.15
SEC. 2. The duty of the Recording Secretary shall be to keep a record of the proceedings of all sessions of the Conference, and of the statistics of the denomination. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.16
Corresponding Secretary. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.17
SEC. 3. The Corresponding Secretary shall have in charge the general correspondence of the Conference, and shall also be the Secretary of the Executive Committee. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.18
Educational Secretary. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.19
SEC. 4. The Educational Secretary shall have the general supervision of the educational work of the denomination. It shall be his duty to visit the different educational institutions; and he may, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, call teachers’ institutes, when the circumstances seem to demand. It shall be his duty to suggest plans and devise means for the development of the educational work of the denomination. He shall also make a report to the General Conference at its sessions, of the progress of the work, and of the general standing of the educational institutions. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.20
Foreign Mission Secretary. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.21
SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the Foreign Mission Secretary to maintain a regular correspondence with superintendents of missions, and with the supervising committees of the foreign mission enterprises under the management of the Foreign Mission Board; to make regular reports of the condition and wants of the missions, to the board, or to such standing committees as may be created for this purpose by the board; to communicate the decisions of the board to its agents in foreign countries; and to report to the Conference at its sessions, the workings of the board, and the condition, wants, and progress of its foreign missions. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.22
Treasurer. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.23
SEC. 6. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to receive all money belonging to the Conference, to keep an account of the same, to disburse it by order of the Executive Committee, and to make a full report thereof at all sessions of the Conference. GCB July 1, 1896, page 740.24
Powers of Executive Committee. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.1
SEC. 7. The Executive Committee shall have full administrative power during the intervals between the sessions of the Conference; it shall take the general supervision of all denominational work, and attend to the proper distribution of the laborers. It shall also give credentials to, or license, such ministers as may be employed in General Conference work; and shall fill for the current term any vacancies that may occur in the offices, boards, committees, or agents, by death, resignation, or otherwise. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.2
Committees. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.3
SEC. 8. The Chair shall appoint, at each regular session of the Conference, the following committees, to serve during the session: (1) On Credentials of Delegates; (2) on Nominations; (3) on Resolutions; (4) on Ministerial Credentials and Licenses; (5) on Distribution of Labor; (6) on Education; and such other committees as the business of the Conference may demand. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.4
Auditing Committee. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.5
SEC. 9. At each regular session of the Conference the presiding officer shall appoint, unless otherwise voted, a standing committee of six delegates, who shall, with the Executive Committee, constitute a committee for auditing and settling all accounts against the Conference. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.6
Foreign Mission Committee. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.7
SEC. 10. The Conference shall elect a Foreign Mission Committee of eight, whose term of office shall be the same as that of the officers of the General Conference. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.8
Foreign Mission Board. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.9
SEC. 11. The Executive Committee and the Foreign Mission Committee shall constitute a Foreign Mission Board of nineteen, for the management of the foreign mission work of this Conference. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.10
Book Committee. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.11
SEC. 12. The Conference shall at each regular session elect a Book Committee of thirteen, which shall each year hold at least two meetings at such times and places as will be most convenient for the majority of the members. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.12
It shall be the duty of the Book Committee to labor for the improvement of Seventh-day Adventist denominational literature, (1) by submitting to the authors and publishers judicious criticisms on books already published; (2) by promptly examining all manuscripts submitted to them, and giving advice with reference to their publication. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.13
ARTICLE II.—REPORTS
SECTION 1. It shall be the duty of the Recording and Corresponding Secretaries of this Conference to furnish such reports as the Executive Committee may require. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.14
SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of all persons employed by this Conference to furnish to the Recording Secretary quarterly and annual reports of all their work and expenditures during such time as they may have been employed. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.15
SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of each local Conference to furnish quarterly to the Recording Secretary of this Conference such statistical reports as the Executive Committee may require. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.16
ARTICLE III.—FUNDS
The General Conference shall receive First-day offerings, Christmas offerings, donations, and a tenth of the tithes of local Conferences. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.17
The Executive Committee is also authorized to call for donations from local Conferences, churches, or individuals, as the wants of the cause may in their judgment demand. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.18
ARTICLE IV.—ELECTION OF TRUSTEES FOR CORPORATE BODIES
The Conference shall elect at its regular sessions twenty-one Trustees for the General Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists, a corporation of the city of Battle Creek, Mich., existing under the laws of the State of Michigan. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.19
ARTICLE V.—GOVERNMENT
All sessions of the Conference shall be governed by the standard parliamentary rules, except in the By-laws otherwise provided. GCB July 1, 1896, page 741.20