Pastor Erton Carlos Köhler was elected world president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on July 4, 2025, during the 62nd Session of the General Conference, held in St. Louis, in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to Adventist News, the church's official portal in South America, it is the first time a South American has taken on the denomination's highest administrative and spiritual office, historically held by North American leaders.
The Brazilian, born in Caxias do Sul (RS), now leads a church present in more than 200 countries and with more than 23 million members. Köhler is a familiar name to anyone who grew up in Pathfinder Clubs: his path in the church began in Youth Ministries, the department that houses the Adventurer and Pathfinder clubs throughout South America.
What happened in St. Louis
The election took place at the opening of the 62nd Session of the General Conference, the Adventist Church's largest administrative gathering, which brings together delegates from around the world every five years. According to Adventist News, the Nominating Committee presented Köhler's name to the plenary, which approved it by a wide majority of the delegates present.
Köhler succeeds Pastor Ted N. C. Wilson, who had led the worldwide church since 2010. With this choice, the Brazilian becomes the 21st president in the denomination's history and takes on the leadership mandate of the church on a global scale.
Commenting on the election, Köhler summed up the tone he intends to set for his administration: We are moving forward, trusting in the Owner of this church
. The phrase captures the message of confidence and focus on mission that marked his first statements as the new president.
Why the election is considered historic
Since the Adventist Church was organized in 1863, the world presidency had been held mostly by North American leaders. Köhler's election breaks that pattern: for the first time, a South American — and, more specifically, a Brazilian — takes command of the denomination, Adventist News reported.
The symbolism carries demographic weight. South America, and Brazil in particular, is one of the fastest-growing regions of the church in the world. The South American Division (SAD) — the body that administers the church in eight countries of the region, including Brazil — is also where the Pathfinder movement built some of its largest structures. Having a leader shaped by that reality at the head of the worldwide church is read, within the denomination, as recognition of the work done on the continent.
To give a sense of scale, the church Köhler now presides over reports more than 23 million members and a presence in more than 200 countries, according to official figures released during the session.
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Köhler was born in Caxias do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul. His pastoral career began in the early 1990s, as a district pastor in São Paulo, and soon turned toward youth work — the area that would shape his entire rise.
According to the record released by the church, he served as youth director in regional fields before taking on, in 2003, the Youth Ministries of the South American Division, coordinating the department across eight countries. In 2007, he was elected president of the SAD — a post he held until 2021 and for which he was chosen while still young, becoming one of the youngest division presidents in the church's recent history.
In 2021, Köhler was elected executive secretary of the General Conference, the second-highest administrative position in the denomination, a role he held until his election to the presidency. It is from that post, in Silver Spring, in the United States, that he reaches the top of the worldwide structure.
What Youth Ministries is — and where the Pathfinders come in
For the club audience, one detail of Köhler's biography stands out more than the titles: he rose through Youth Ministries. In the Adventist structure, this is the department responsible for the church's young people, and it is within it that the Adventurer Clubs (children ages 6 to 9) and the Pathfinder Clubs (ages 10 to 15) are found, along with the Young Adults.
It is worth explaining two terms that come up whenever the subject is the worldwide church. A Division is one of the administrative regions into which the General Conference organizes its work across the planet; the South American Division is the one that looks after Brazil and seven other neighboring countries. The General Conference, in turn, is the global level, which coordinates all the divisions. When a division Youth Ministries director reaches the world presidency, it is the first time someone with that specific background has held the office.
In practice, this means the church's highest administrative authority is now someone who, at some point in their career, was directly tied to organizing camps, camporees and investitures — the events that structure the life of a club. The camporee is the great Pathfinder gathering, which can bring together tens of thousands of participants; the investiture is the ceremony in which Pathfinders officially receive the classes and honors they completed over the course of the year.
What changes from now on
Electing the president is only the first step of a General Conference Session. Throughout the gathering, delegates also choose other world leaders and vote on adjustments to church policies. The decisions made in St. Louis will guide the denomination's work over the next five years, until the next session.
For the clubs, the change is above all symbolic in the short term: the direct administration of the Pathfinders remains in the hands of Youth Ministries in each division, union and conference, and the rules for classes, honors and investitures continue to be defined regionally. What changes is the horizon — for the first time, a former South American youth leader holds the highest seat in the worldwide church.