On Monday, the 29th General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene took the following actions:

(Go to ga2017.com/resolutions to view documents.)

• Agreed to elect six general superintendents for the next quadrennium.


• Re-elected incumbent general superintendents Eugénio R. Duarte, David W. Graves, David A. Busic, and Gustavo A. Crocker to serve for the next quadrennium.


• Accepted the vote for general superintendents taken Saturday in regional caucuses as Ballot No. 1 for electing two new general superintendents to join the incumbents. 


• On the first ballot, the top vote-getters were Carla Sunberg, 176 votes; Filimao Chambo, 167 votes; Christian Sarmiento, 87 votes; Scott Daniels, 57 votes; Bob Broadbooks, 54 votes, and Carlos Saenz, 52 votes.


• Honored the service of General Superintendent Jerry D. Porter and bestowed upon him the title of general superintendent emeritus. Porter served in the office of general superintendent for 20 years. He was elected in 1997 at the General Assembly in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Eligible to serve a fifth term, Porter chose to step away from the Board of General Superintendents and concentrate on other ministries. A son of the Nazarene mission field, he also served his church in the roles of pastor, missionary, regional director, and district superintendent. (SR-750)


• Honored the service of J. K. Warrick and bestowed upon him the title of general superintendent emeritus upon his retirement from the BGS. Warrick was elected to the office of general superintendent by the 2005 General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, and served in that capacity for 12 years. Previously, he was a pastor in the southwestern U.S., Indianapolis, and subsequently of College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, Kansas, USA. (SR-751)


• Voted to suspend the rules and take a straight up-or-down vote on legislation that had been processed by the theological study committee that met during the past quadrennium.


• Modified the Article of Faith 12, “Baptism.” The new language emphasizes that baptism not only signifies “acceptance of the benefits of the atonement,” but also includes “incorporation into the Body of Christ.” The new language underscores that baptism is a means of grace. Passed by a show of hands.


• Modified Article of Faith 13, “The Lord’s Supper.” The new language includes the statement that “The Lord’s Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit.” It also states that “those who have faith in Christ and love the saints are invited by Christ to participate as often as possible.” (JUD-802)


• Accepted changes to Article of Faith 7, “Prevenient Grace.” (JUD-810). 


• Accepted changes to Article of Faith 8, “Repentance,” that emphasize that it is “a sincere and thorough change of the mind in regard to sin” and “is demanded of all who have by act or purpose become sinners against God.” (JUD-811) 


• Rejected a re-write of Article 10, “Christian Holiness and Entire Sanctification” (JUD-813), that was unanimously approved in committee (20/0) and had the support of the Board of General Superintendents. The proposed change garnered a majority of votes cast but failed to win two-thirds of the votes cast. 


• Authorized a study committee to study Article of Faith 16, “Resurrection, Judgment, and Destiny.” The resolution left it to the BGS to decide whether or not to assign it to the Articles of Faith Study Committee or to raise a special committee for the purpose.