Thomas J. Mostert, who has served as president of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists since 1986, announced in late July that he will retire at the end of 2007.

"I am still in good health; I am challenged by my work, and enjoy serving with some wonderful people. And so far, no one has suggested I retire," Mostert said in an e-mail message to the union executive committee. "But after 44 years of service to the Church, with over 30 years of it being in administration, others are calling. My wife is retiring at year end, and the grandkids are growing up fast."

A new president will be chosen by the union executive committee at the Nov. 15 meeting. Don Schneider, North American Division president, will lead the process and chair the meeting. Choosing the new president in November will provide a six-week transition period.

So why didn't Mostert retire in August 2006, at the every-five-years constituency meeting? "I had planned to retire at the last constituency meeting," Mostert says, "but due to all the other [three] officers being new to their jobs, and some other unfinished business, I was urged to continue on awhile longer. By the end of 2007, the other officers of the union will have been in place for nearly two years, and the other unfinished business will have been completed. So it seems this is the right time to choose a new leader for the Pacific Union."

Mostert's 21-year presidency is more than twice as long as any other leader in the 106-year history of the union. The 17 presidents before Mostert averaged less than five years each, with C.L. Bauer serving the longest, from 1947 to 1957.

Mostert has presided over a dramatic downsizing and refocusing of the Pacific Union. Every union in the North American Division is assigned a percentage of the tithe paid by members. Before Mostert reorganized, the Pacific Union used its full percentage to create resources and support various ministries. But many members and leaders in the 1980s, including Mostert, believed this created unnecessary duplication of effort and wasted resources. Today, more than two-thirds of the money designated for the Pacific Union is forwarded directly to the local conferences, La Sierra University and Pacific Union College.

"Over the remaining five months of this year, I will continue to give the work of the Pacific Union my full energies and undivided attention," says Mostert. "When the year ends I will enter that next phase of life and learn about the retirement that others recommend."