A specially convened committee met on Feb. 22, 2026, to elect Abraham Henry to serve as president of the Lake Region Conference. In harmony with the conference’s constitution and bylaws, the group met to fill the existing vacancy within the Lake Region Conference, which is in the Lake Union territory.
The delegation, composed of the surviving members of the previous quadrennial nominating committee and the current Lake Region Conference executive committee, met in a spirit of prayer and careful deliberation.
Henry had been serving as interim president since January. With this action, he now transitions from interim service to the duly elected office of president for the remainder of the present term, which concludes at the next regularly scheduled constituency session in August.
“I am honored and excited to lead in this new capacity,” said Henry. “As someone who has served in the great Lake Region for the past six years, I look forward to mobilizing our members for mission—to be loving, serving, teaching and preaching as we work together and watch God expand the field.”
Before joining the Lake Region Conference, Henry served in the Central States Conference as senior pastor of the New Beginnings Church in Wichita, Kansas. Prior to moving to Kansas in 2016, he served within the Lake Union as pastor of Illinois Conference’s New Jerusalem Seventh-day Adventist Church and as Lake Region’s Pathfinder executive coordinator.
During Henry’s undergraduate years, he majored in theology and minored in Biblical Studies at Oakwood University. He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from City College of New York and a Master of Divinity from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He completed the Doctor of Ministry degree, with a concentration in strategic leadership, from Claremont School of Theology, and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in human resources.
“Dr. Henry has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the mission of the Church. I am confident that the Lord will continue to guide and strengthen him as he leads during this important season in the life of the Conference,” said Elden Ramirez, president of the Lake Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, who chaired the committee in accordance with the constitution and bylaws.
The Lake Union Conference invites members throughout its territory to join in prayer for Henry, his family, and the Lake Region Conference as he assumes this sacred responsibility and continues advancing the mission entrusted to the Church.
Lake Region Conference communication with Herald staff