KEENE, TEXAS—During the 32nd Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Constituency Session held on Sunday, April 26, 2026, Elton DeMoraes, D.Min., former president of the Texas Conference, was elected as the new president of the Southwestern Union Conference in Burleson, Texas, effective immediately. The session took place at the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church in Keene, Texas, where more than 250 delegates and delegates-at-large gathered to elect officers, vice presidents and directors for the upcoming quinquennium of the Southwestern Union Conference.
“To say the election was a shock is an understatement,” remarked David Runnels, Texas Conference executive secretary. According to the Texas Conference Constitution and Bylaws, Runnels will now serve as the interim Texas Conference president until a new president is elected by the Texas Conference Executive Committee.
DeMoraes first joined the Texas Conference in 1998, serving as an associate pastor for the Houston Central Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church. Seven years later, he became the pastor of the Tyler Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tyler, Texas. In 2009, he briefly pastored the Houston Northwest Seventh-day Adventist Church before being elected as the Texas Conference English Evangelism director. This role eventually expanded to include Church Planting. In 2011, DeMoraes became the Ministerial, Church Planting and English Evangelism director, a role he held until 2016, when he was elected as Texas Conference executive secretary.
In 2018, he was elected as the vice president for Church Ministries, Ministerial, Men’s Ministries and Stewardship for the Southwestern Union Conference. Three years later, the Texas Conference Executive Committee elected him as president of the Texas Conference, a position he held until his recent election on April 26, 2026, as president of the Southwestern Union Conference.
“Elder DeMoraes has made a significant impact on the Texas Conference, influencing churches, schools and the conference office,” Runnels commented. “His passion to work ‘Together As One’ has left a lasting legacy for us, inspiring us to continue striving to finish God’s work together.”
In accordance with the Texas Conference Constitution and Bylaws, a special Texas Conference Executive Committee will convene on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, to begin the process of selecting a new Texas Conference president. DeMoraes, in his role as president of the Southwestern Union Conference, will chair this committee.
“Please join us in wishing Elder DeMoraes and his wife, Alessandra, all the best in this new chapter of their lives,” Runnels added. “And keep both the Southwestern Union Conference and the Texas Conference in your prayers, that God will continue to lead His people who desire to finish His work.”
–Texas Conference Public Relations
