It was our last day here there was a great deal of work to accomplish before we left, and we were anxious about being able to get it all done.

We started off our day by formally taking a vote to go to Africa in 2026 for our first “regular” General Conference. General Conferences in the Global Methodist Church will take place every 6 years so after 2026 we won’t have another one until 2032. Then we voted on our Plan of Organization and Covenant. This will be the document that guides our meeting timelines and rules for the 2026 General Conference. These were mostly accepted with little debate or discussion.

Pro-tip: If you want to get something passed with little discussion at General Conference, make sure it’s scheduled to be presented on the last day. Delegates are tired and ready to go home. We had some legislation that needed to be brought back up after it had been rejected, and we were able to do this with little questions or concerns. All of the committees were able to get their work completed which was an awesome achievement considering all that we had to address. One of the things that took the longest time today was to finalize the election of representatives for our various commissions and committees. This is always a tedious process and it was made even longer by the fact that the computer running the voting software went down today. Robert Lancaster one of our North Alabama clergy members has been running our voting all week. Luckily our Conference Superintendent Alan Beasley was able to loan Robert his computer and voting was able to resume.

Other than selecting our site for 2026, the other important work of note was the work that was done perfecting our mission statement. An amendment was brought to the floor that was passed by our plenary session. The need to work on our statement came because many believed it did not represent our unique Wesleyan heritage. Our original statement felt rather generic as if it could belong to any church. What was ultimately presented and passed, was that our mission statement would in effect become our “vision statement” and our mission statement would reflect who we are as Methodist Christians.

Our new mission statement is: The Global Methodist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.

Our new vision statement is: Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the Global Methodist Church envisions multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the earth who flourish in scriptural holiness as we worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.

There were those who felt we needed to keep the old language in our documents because of the work that had already been done incorporating it into our various efforts. I agree that removing the old language would have been a difficult choice and would have caused some issues. However, I am much happier with the new mission statement as I feel that it more accurately reflects who we are as Global Methodists.

The last order of the day was to consecrate our newly elected Bishops. It was a beautiful service and a momentous occasion that will be remembered for generations to come. I was brought to tears as I thought about how much we have endured and how far we have come. To see those faithful men and women kneel on that stage and be charged with service to God was a blessing. I am proud that these are our bishops and I know that they will lead our church well in these next two years.

As we wrap up our time here, I am tired but also filled with a sense of peace. Our work is not perfect, and it is not done…but it is Holy Work born out of Holy Conferencing and I believe that God will continue to guide our efforts as we move forward. I am excited about the next chapter of what God has in store for us. It is my hope that I will be able to be a part of the conference in Africa to continue the work started here, however, there is much prayer and discernment that still needs to happen, and the decision is ultimately not in my hands. For now, I am ready to get back to my church in Russellville and the work God has given me to accomplish there. I have genuinely missed those wonderful people I serve, and I am excited to worship with them on Sunday. I feel I am coming back with a sense of renewed enthusiasm to reach people for Christ and to help disciples grow in their faith.

May the LORD be with you and perfect you, so the WORLD will know…