Photo Courtesy of Gissela Kroll
Photo courtesy of Gissela Kroll
Choral director Gissela Kroll shares reflections from the General Conference Session.
For one unforgettable weekend in St. Louis, Mo., I stood on stage with 50 young voices and players — ages 3 to 17 — leading worship at the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s General Conference. This global gathering happens only once every five years, drawing more than 68,000 believers from every nation, tribe, and language.
Our choir, Kids in Tune, represented the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference for the third consecutive General Conference — San Antonio in 2015, a virtual appearance in 2022, and now, finally, back in person in 2025. Each time has been special, but this year felt different. After years of distance and separation, to stand side by side with believers from around the world felt like a taste of Heaven.
The highlight came when we joined the world choir and orchestra to sing “Jesus Is Coming Again.” In that moment, I looked out and saw faces from every continent, heard accents from every corner of the globe, and felt the Dome at America’s Center filled with one united voice. It was as if God gave us a small preview of eternity.
These children — many untravelled — stepped into a much bigger world. They sang with skill, joy, and conviction, understanding that they were part of something eternal. Between rehearsals, they met choirs from other countries, shared songs in different languages, and discovered the beauty of a faith family that spans the world.
I often tell them that worship isn’t just what happens on stage; it’s also the friendships formed, the prayers whispered, and the hearts opened along the way. In St. Louis, they saw that truth come alive.
We are deeply thankful and honored for the support we’ve received — from the General Conference leadership, the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference, our home church Madison Campus, and each family who sacrificed time, resources, and energy to make this possible. Without that support, we could not have lifted our voices on that stage.
When we returned home, the music still echoed in my heart. My prayer is that years from now, they will remember the sound of thousands singing together — and know they belong to a God whose family knows no borders, and whose return is certain, because … we have seen a glimpse of it. And. it is beautiful.
Kentucky-Tennessee | October 2025
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