The administrative body of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the intervals between sessions of the General Conference. It consists of all who are elected at the General Conference sessions to serve in the General Conference organization and in the divisions; also the presidents of union conferences and union missions, the ex-presidents of the General Conference holding credentials from the General Conference, the presidents of the two SDA universities, the editor of the Adventist Review , the presidents of the publishing houses in the United States, the president of Home Study International/Griggs University, and the executive director of the General Conference Insurance Service; also up to 80 others, elected at the sessions or by the General Conference Executive Committee between sessions. There are (1993) about 370 members of the Executive Committee. The term of office of all except the ex-officio members is from one regular General Conference session to the next, usually five years.
In 1991 the Annual Council reduced the weekly scheduled Executive Committee meeting to four required annual meetings, one each quarter. It also authorized the establishment of an Administrative Committee (ADCOM) with limited authority to care for routine items generally associated with the General Conference headquarters. Should a need arise necessitating a meeting of the Executive Committee, the General Conference president or a General Conference officer may call a meeting of the Executive Committee at any time. The 1993 Annual Council further reduced the required frequency of meetings to semiannual meetings, one in the spring (Spring Meeting) and the other in the fall (Annual Council).