59TH GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION
The Seventh-day Adventist General Conference Session is held every five years. It
is the forum for electing world church officers and voting changes to the church's
constitution. The Georgia World Congress Center is housing commercial and promotional
exhibits, providing an opportunity for an expected 70,000 visitors to see what church
organizations and individuals are doing in the context of the Church's mission.
Southern's Exhibit Concepts
When the initial planning of Southern’s exhibit for the General Conference Session
began in 2007, we decided to showcase features on campus that our faculty and students
are passionate about and that attract visitors. The Lynn H. Wood Archaeology Museum was one obvious choice.
At the same time, the Biology Department had been developing an idea for a institute
to help address origins issues. Qualified faculty members had been recruited as the
first step. The second step was under way to construct a museum-like exhibit in the
hallways of Hickman Science Center. With Southern Adventist University’s history of
an interdisciplinary commitment to the faith and science bridge, the GC Session committee
felt this was another obvious choice. Meanwhile, the institute concept is progressing.
The hallway exhibit, opened in April 2012, is a step toward developing a resource
for Seventh-day Adventist Church educators, pastors, and constituents.
Five brochures addressing some of the complex questions about origins were produced
for Southern's exhibit. Written with the nonscientist in mind, they offer an understanding
from a short-term creation worldview.
