The General Conference is the highest administrative level of the church, with different levels of organization beneath. Each level is organized with a representative form of government constituted by the level beneath it, with the individual members of the Church forming the base level (see below for a complete list of all the organizational levels). At the top, the General Conference elects the executive committee and officers to govern the Church until the next General Conference session. Six levels of Church structure lead from the individual believer to the worldwide Church organization:
The levels are:
- The Individual Members.
- The Church, consisting of its Members.
- The Conference, consisting of a number of local Churches in a given area.
- The Union Conference, consisting of a number of local Conferences.
- The Division, consisting of a number of Unions.
- The General Conference, consisting of all the Divisions in the world. However, when a General Conference Session is held to determine major policy stances of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and elect its leaders, delegates from a number of the levels beneath the GC are usually sent to take part in the process.
The General Conference is overseen by an executive committee, headed by a President. The General Conference Session is a meeting held every five years, during which the executive committee and officers are elected by the use of nominating committees.[2] The most recent General Conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in 2010 and the next General Conference (the 60th) will be held in San Antonio, Texas, in July 2015.
This information was obtained from this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Conference_of_Seventh-day_Adventists )