The General Conference Session — the Adventist Church's supreme governing meeting — costs approximately $8-10 million per quinquennium. The 2025 St. Louis session came in under budget, with $4.1 million in technology costs and $2.2 million in operations.
At 8-10 cents per member per year, the GC defenders argue this represents 'extraordinary value' for democratic governance.
But the GC Session is just the tip of the iceberg.
The full constituency meeting cycle includes 13 division sessions, 100+ union sessions, and 500+ local conference sessions — each on their own multi-year cycle. Each involves delegate travel, venue costs, catering, materials, and months of administrative preparation.
Conservative estimates suggest the aggregate cost across all levels: approximately $78 million per five-year cycle, or about $15.6 million annually — roughly 70 cents per member per year.
Perhaps more significant than the direct cost is the opportunity cost. GC Session alone consumes 10 days of intensive involvement for ~2,500 delegates and thousands of support staff. The cumulative time investment across all levels likely represents millions of person-hours annually redirected from mission, evangelism, and pastoral care.
The question isn't whether democratic governance matters — it does. The question is whether the travel-intensive, multi-day format is the most efficient way to deliver it in an era of digital communication.
Some observers note that most major decisions at GC Sessions are predetermined through committee work. The session itself is partly theatre — important theatre, but theatre nonetheless.
Is $78 million per cycle a reasonable price for democratic legitimacy? Or could the governance function be delivered differently?