World leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today voted to receive a report advocating reorganization of several world church departments, and to pass that report on to a new standing commission that will evaluate church operations in the five-year period beginning after the world church's business meeting this summer.

"I think it is a good idea for our church ... to have a standing [commission] to address the issues of our mission and organization," said Pastor Jan Paulsen, world church president, at the session. "We are becoming an ever larger, international community," he added, noting that analysis of such matters is "something we should do regularly, routinely and normally."

He added, "In the end, our intention is that the church should be well and grow."

Paulsen made his remarks after turning over the chairmanship of the session to Gerry Karst, a vice president of the world church. The session discussed the report prepared by a "Ministries and Services Review Commission" that was constituted last fall, with a mandate to "review all the ministries and services of the [church's headquarters] to determine the most effective means of assisting the World Church to fulfill her mission."

The document noted the growing demands of a global church and suggested moving nine departments from the world headquarters to divisional offices. The new standing committee will receive the document as one of several resources to consider in its work, expected to begin after the church's next executive committee meeting, which will set the terms of reference and composition of the panel.