The Gulf States Conference marked the beginning of a new five-year term on October 25, 2026, as its 34th Quinquennial Constituency Session brought church representation and conference leadership together under the theme “Reviving the Mission.” Held at the conference office in Montgomery, Alabama, the session elected officers, departmental leaders, and an Executive Committee to serve the work of the Church across Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle.
Delegates reelected Brian Danese as president, Martin Fancher as executive secretary, and Gwen Speak as treasurer. Their election provides continuity in the conference’s administrative leadership as Gulf States enters aterm with an emphasis on personal revival and renewed commitment to sharing the gospel.
In his written welcome to constituents, Danese connected the theme with John the Baptist’s call to prepare the way for the Lord. He invited members to consider how the choices of daily life prepare their hearts for Christ and shape their participation in His work. The emphasis places spiritual renewal at the center of the conference’s direction for the coming years.
“Our lives and characters are always changed by a series of choices,” Danese wrote in his welcome. He encouraged constituents to prepare their hearts and straighten the paths of their lives, one choice at a time.
A shared responsibility
The constituency session provides local congregations a direct role in conference governance. Delegates represent their churches in selecting leaders and addressing the business entrusted to the session. The 2026 delegate roster organized that representation into four regions: Northern Alabama, Southern Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle.
The roster included delegates from congregations of different sizes and communities, including numerous Hispanic and bilingual churches. Together, those congregations represent the local settings in which the conference’s mission takes place: neighborhoods where members worship, families raise children, and churches build relationships with people who have yet to hear the Adventist message.
Under the representation formula published in the session’s legal notice, each church was entitled to one delegate, plus one additional delegate for every 50 members or major fraction thereof. Preparations also included delegate orientations scheduled for October 6 and 11 and online access to session documents, including financial information and proposed constitutional and bylaws revisions.
The published program placed the election process alongside reports from administration, a mission spotlight featuring Streams of Light, and a ministerial spotlight on pastoral transitions. These subjects connected the responsibilities of conference governance with the people, resources, and ministries involved in carrying the gospel throughout the territory.
Leaders for the coming term
The elected leadership team includes Daryl Mupupuni, Information Technology Director; Daniel Claudet, Communication and Media Director; Scott Bowes, Superintendent of Education; Josh Murillo, Vice President for Ministerial; Gerson Sanchez, Hispanic Ministries Director; David Sigamani, Trust Services and Publishing Michel Rodriguez, Youth and Children’s Ministries Director.
These assignments encompass much of the support that the conference provides to local congregations and schools. Pastoral ministry, education, communication, and the development of younger generations each contribute to the Church’s witness. Other responsibilities support members in sharing their faith, caring for resources, and strengthening ministry across language and cultural communities.
The newly elected Executive Committee are Steve Wade, Leroy Abrahams, Abner Cordova, Jorge Belisario, Kim Carr, Luis Sousa, Edwin Quijada, Frank Martin, John Saeva, Chris Atkinson, Mike Whatley, and Yenesis Atencio.
Mike Hutcheson, Naomi Franco, and Obed Ordaz were elected as lay persons at large. Michel Rodriguez serves as the departmental director representative, joining Brian Danese, Martin Fancher, and Gwen Speak on the committee
Stewardship in support of ministry
The treasurer’s published quinquennial report provided a financial perspective on the preceding five years. Members returned $74,005,492 in tithe during 2021–2025, compared with $55,567,647 during 2016–2020, an increase of approximately $18.4 million. The report described that support as an expression of members’ faithfulness and God’s provision for the work.
Ministry programs, including pastoral salaries and benefits and evangelism, accounted for 33 percent of conference expenses during the reporting period. Education accounted for another 41 percent. Together, those categories represented nearly three-fourths of expenses, reflecting the substantial resources committed to pastoral work, evangelism, and Adventist education.
The report also identified challenges and adjustments in educational ministry. Following the closure of Bass Memorial Academy in June 2025, BMA Legacy Endowment funds continued helping Gulf States students attend boarding academies outside the conference. The endowment stood at $7,933,009 on December 31, 2025. Across the five-year reporting period, the combined investment of the conference and local churches in education totaled $26,210,898.
Such figures describe resources entrusted to the Church for service. Behind the totals are members returning tithe, local treasurers maintaining records, teachers working with students, and pastors serving congregations. Their contributions sustain the ministries that conference leaders and local churches carry forward together.
Reviving the Mission
Danese’s welcome outlined an annual progression for the new term: “Reviving the Temple” in 2027, “Reviving the Sabbath” in 2028, “Reviving our Prophetic Story” in 2029, “Reviving the Gospel” in 2030, and “Reviving the Great Commission” in 2031. The sequence connects personal spiritual life and Adventist identity with the calling to make disciples.
For Gulf States, that direction gives the five-year theme an application beyond the constituency gathering. Its fulfillment will depend on the choices of members and leaders in their homes, congregations, schools, and communities. Prayer, faithfulness to Scripture, and participation in local ministry give practical expression to the renewal the theme invites.
With leaders elected for the coming term, the responsibility now extends throughout the conference family. “Reviving the Mission” calls Gulf States members to prepare their hearts for Christ and carry His invitation into the communities they serve.