Ted. N.C. Wilson was elected as president of the 16.3 million Seventh-day Adventist Church, during the denomination's 59th general conference session in Atlanta.

Wilson, 60, replaces Jan Paulsen, who has served as president since 1999.  Most recently he was  general vice president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a position he has held since July 2000. He has held administrative and executive positions in the Mid-Atlantic United States, Africa and Russia.

Wilson  began his church career as as a pastor in the Greater New York Conference.

The general conference session, which runs through July 3,  is expected to draw 70,000 people. Wilson, of  Maryland, was appointed by the Protestant denomination's  246-member nominating committee and confirmed by the general conference session's delegation, which is an international body of 2,410 appointed members.

Georgia has  217 Seventh-day Adventist churches and 34 educational institutions in Georgia.

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A migrant farmworker harvests Vidalia onions at a farm in Collins, in 2011. A coalition of farmworkers, including one based in Georgia, filed suit last month in federal court arguing that cuts to H-2A wages will trigger a cut in the pay and standard of living of U.S. agricultural workers. (Bita Honarvar/AJC)

Credit: Bita Honarvar