Convening General Conference Begins Meeting
Over two years after its founding in 2022, the GlobalMethodist Church’s convening General Conference has started meeting.
Over the past two weeks, the Agenda and Nominations Committees have been meeting to flesh out their work. Both committees are composed solely of General Conference delegates elected by their annual conferences, nominated to serve, and appointed to these committees by the Transitional Leadership Council.
The Agenda Committee has finalized the schedule for the Convening General Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica. The proposed schedule is to be approved by the Transitional Leadership Council on September 2, 2024, and is posted here. It will begin with worship and the episcopal address, led by Bishops Scott Jones, Mark Webb, and Johnwesley Yohanna. Worship will feature dynamic musical contributions from the choir and orchestra.
The rest of the first day will feature training and orientation, housekeeping and logistical matters, the proposed election of bishops Jones and Webb as bishops for the next two years, and the proposed adoption of the Plan of Organization and Covenant for Our Life Together that will govern the conduct of our conference. A special feature will be the proposed ratification of a covenant relationship with the Evangelical Methodist Church of Costa Rica. This covenant relationship will feature the welcoming of Bishop Luis FernandoPolomo and a clergy and lay delegate from the Costa Rican Church to join the conference as ecumenical representatives.
Worship will be a strong feature of the convening General Conference. In addition to two full worship services and daily devotions, there will be two off-site special worship services that will be open to the broader public. The worship service on the evening of the first day will feature the many ministries and missions being carried out by the Evangelical Methodist Church of Costa Rica and include the participation of members of that church. Another special worship service on the evening of day five will emphasize survival and evangelism. Both special services will feature a mix of musical styles and inspiring preaching.
Most of day two and parts of days three and four will feature legislative committee meetings, where most of the 250+ petitions submitted to the conference will be considered. Every petition will receive consideration and a vote in committee. Those approved will receive consideration and a vote by the full plenary session of the conference. Those petitions approved will revise the Book of Doctrines and Discipline that order the life of our denomination.
Many important issues will be addressed. The most significant include the adoption of a constitution that will form the foundation for our church’s governance and a decision on what model of episcopacy to pursue: a residential model or an itinerant model. Many decisions will help our church move from being “transitional” to being established. Other important decisions have been postponed until the 2026 General Conference, when more global membership will be represented, as new conferences join the church.
Five of the legislative committees met during the past week to elect officers, receive training, and prepare for their work together. Recordings of these meetings are available at:
Officers elected by the five legislative committees so far are:
Conferences
John Weston, chair
Eugene Paik, vice-chair
Sarah Williams, secretary
Constitution
Ryan Barnett, chair
Kathleen Engleman, vice-chair
James Pollitt, secretary
Episcopacy and Superintendency
Jordan McFall, chair
Dianna Brisselli, vice-chair
MollyWilliams, secretary
Judicial Administration
Jimmy Towson, chair
Zawadie Abiade, vice-chair
Debbie Smalley, secretary
Ministry and Local Church
` Leslie Tomlinson, chair
Bonface Wanyama, vice-chair
Liz Bowlin, secretary
The remaining two committees will meet next week. They are financial Administration and Connectional Organization. Some committees will choose to have additional virtual meetings during the intervening time up to the conference opening on September 20.
Some wonder why the legislative committees are meeting so late. The Plan of Organization allowed them to start meeting the third week of June. Unfortunately, the election of delegates by their annual conferences was done later than anticipated. Additional annual conferences were in the process of joining the Global Methodist Church. This pushed back the time frame when delegates could be assigned to legislative committees. That assignment process also took longer than anticipated. Staff and volunteer illnesses and other commitments got in the way of swift action at times. Some decisions were appealed and needed to go through a process of discernment. These and other factors pushed back the time when committees were able to begin functioning.
It should be noted that the planning and execution of this General Conference took place in about 18 months – a task that our previous denomination devoted four or more years to. In addition, we were building the systems and processes from scratch, rather than relying on processes that had been used multiple times before. We anticipate the 2026 General Conference will feature much more timely and smooth preparations.
The adage has frequently been used that we are building the plane while we are flying it. We rejoice to announce that this plane is now off the ground and gaining altitude! We solicit your prayers and support as we continue this difficult but very rewarding work. We are building a new vessel to carry the Gospel to the nations in word and action that will last beyond our lifetimes and touch the lives of millions with the love of Christ. Who would not be excited by the possibilities the future holds, by the grace of God!!!
By Rev. Thomas Lambrecht