Introduction
At the 2010 General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia, a request was made for an official church study of ordination. In response to this request, on September 18, 2012, General Conference leaders voted to establish the Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC). TOSC is composed of 106 Adventist men and women of diverse ages, ethnicities, and professions, tasked with answering two primary questions which it will report on at the 2014 Annual Council:
- What is the theology of ordination from a Biblical perspective?
- What should the implications of this theology be for Seventh-day Adventist practices, including the question of women’s ordination?
This website is the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s repository of official documents, various GC committee actions, resources, and links pertaining to ordination. Its purpose is to encourage productive study, reflection, and discussion as a global Church family.
The information and documents in these pages do not necessarily represent the views or conclusions of TOSC, however, they are all official denominational actions, or documents created as a part of an official study process.
- The minutes contained in these pages are the official actions of General Conference Sessions or of General Conference committees.
- Each study document was commissioned by the Church at some point since 1972 to gain insight into the question of ordination.
The website of the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research is the host of these pages because it is the archives of the General Conference and North American Division and is the premier location for research on the Adventist Church.
May God bless you as you prayerfully utilize this important resource.