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NEWS & UPDATES

Introducing Across the Globe: The Podcast

Sharing Stories of God’s Work Around the World

Through this podcast, we will highlight churches faithfully serving their communities, bishops traveling the world to preach to the unreached, and delegates doing the meaningful work of shaping decisions that will guide the future of our denomination. These are the stories that reflect the heart of our connection and the movement of the Holy Spirit across the globe.

On Across the Globe, you’ll hear from special guests ranging from pastors and denominational leaders to church members, all eager to share how the Lord is moving within the Global Methodist Church.

In our first episode, you’ll hear from the Executive Team of the Global Operations Office: Mike Schafer, Connectional Operations Officer; Dianne Burnett, Executive Director of Communications; and Matt Conover, Executive Director of Finance. Together, they reflect on the milestones of 2025 and share what lies ahead in 2026, offering insight into the vision, stewardship, and momentum shaping this next season.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or watch on YouTube using the buttons below. Be sure to subscribe and stay connected as new episodes are released.



Together We’ve Reached 7,000 Churches Worldwide

Lubbock, Texas, February 18, 2026 - The Global Methodist Church (GMC) has officially surpassed 7,000 churches worldwide, marking a significant milestone in the denomination’s ongoing mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.

The denomination now includes 48 Annual Conferences, the majority of which are located outside the United States, along with four emerging areas, reflecting an expanding global footprint shaped by local ministry and united by shared faith. While many GMC congregations remain in the U.S., much of the church’s growth over the past year has occurred internationally, with meaningful expansion across Africa, Asia, Eurasia, the Philippines, Europe, and Latin America, along with emerging presence in South America and the Caribbean.

Since its launch in 2022, the Global Methodist Church has experienced rapid growth across multiple continents, demonstrating a collective commitment among clergy and laity to vibrant faith, orthodox Wesleyan theology, and bold witness in communities around the world.

“This moment represents far more than a number,” said Connectional Operations Officer Mike Schafer. “Each local church represents people growing deeper in Jesus, their communities being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and new people coming to know Christ. We give thanks for every church family who has helped shape this growing global movement.”

The full press release is available below.

GENERAL CONFERENCE NEWS

Mission Experience

Serve. Pray. Give.

Mission Experience invites everyone to take part in God’s work, together. Conference attendees can engage in hands-on service projects that bless local communities, while those who cannot attend can participate through prayer and giving. Every role matters, every gift makes a difference, and together we extend Christ’s love in tangible ways.

Visit the Missions Experience page for details on ways to participate and support this experience.

ASSEMBLY OF BISHOPS

The World Is Our Parish: Assembly of Bishops Teaching Series

Join us—individually or with your small group or Bible study—for our current teaching series, The World Is Our Parish, featuring our Assembly of Bishops. The first two lessons are already available, with the remaining sessions releasing over the next two weeks.

In this four-part series, you’ll explore the roots of Methodism and the Global Methodist Church’s place in this rich heritage of faithfulness and devotion to Christ. Filmed in the United Kingdom, the series highlights significant Wesleyan sites that connect us to our Methodist story and shared legacy.

GLOBAL OPERATIONS

Staff Spotlight: Lamar Oliver

General Conference Petitions Secretary & Assistant Secretary

As our Global Operations staff works to further the movement and mission of the Global Methodist Church, we want to serve you! Each month, learn about staff members on the Global Operations team and their areas of expertise and service. We strive to be an accessible and trusted resource and are excited for you to learn more about the team.

As Petitions Secretary, he designs and manages the petition submission process for each General Conference, ensuring that petitions meet constitutional and disciplinary standards, include proper documentation, and are prepared for legislative consideration. He also compiles and publishes the Pre-Conference Petitions Report in all authorized languages of the denomination. 

As Assistant Secretary, he records the official minutes of plenary sessions, prepares the Daily Journal, supports presiding officers and legislative committees, participates in the work of the General Conference Commission, and assists the General Conference Secretary as needed. Together, these responsibilities support the orderly, transparent, and faithful governance of the church.

A native of Lake Charles, LA, Lamar holds a B.S. (Accounting) from Louisiana Tech University, a M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary, and a M.B.A. (Non-Profit and Church Administration) from Dakota Wesleyan University. He serves as adjunct faculty in the College of Business at DWU and is active in several ministries of the Trinity Conference. In addition to his denominational leadership, he serves executives and teams through his coaching practice as a Kolbe™ Certified Consultant and Full Focus Certified Pro.

Lamar and his wife, Erin — also an Asbury graduate — will celebrate twenty-five years of marriage this summer. They live in Ruston, LA, with their children, Anna and Joseph. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, U.S. history, current events, cooking, and spectator sports, particularly the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and SEC football.

CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT

MEXICO ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Mexico Annual Conference: Growing in Faith, Mission, and Connection

The Mexico Annual Conference is experiencing remarkable growth in discipleship, mission, and connectional life, offering a powerful testimony to what God is doing through faithful leadership and courageous congregations.

Pastoral formation remains a top priority. David Almanza, the Conference Superintendent, is completing a master’s degree at Asbury Theological Seminary and preparing for doctoral studies. Two pastors are enrolled at Truett Theological Seminary, while eleven pastors and fourteen lay leaders are studying through the Trinity Conference School of Ministry. Churches also gather bi-weekly for prayer and Bible study, strengthening unity and spiritual renewal.

Mission is central to the conference’s identity. For 18 years, the We Are One ministry, led by David Almanza and his wife, has served remote mountain communities with humanitarian aid and gospel witness. Each year, teams also travel to Cuba to provide supplies, lead children’s camps, train leaders, and support discipleship and marriage ministries. In 2025, fourteen participants from multiple churches served in Cuba, with another trip planned for this year.

Church planting is another major focus. In September 2024, the conference included just one congregation. By December 2025, it had grown to fourteen churches, including five new plants. Churches across the conference regularly share resources, facilities, and financial support to help new congregations thrive. One pastor started a church on the street but worked with other churches and now have their own meeting place.

We give thanks to God for the extraordinary faithfulness and service of churches across Mexico, particularly Misión Vida Nueva, Cielos Abiertos, and Vida Nueva in Juárez, Nuevo León, all of which are doing exceptional work among underprivileged children by sharing the gospel while also meeting tangible needs through compassion, care, and practical support. In Saltillo, Coahuila, Príncipe de Paz planted a new congregation, Dios Fuerte, last year, and together these churches are already making a meaningful impact, especially through their ministry to children and families. We also extend special gratitude to El Reino, the first Global Methodist Church in Mexico, whose faithful support has been foundational to the growth and stability of the annual conference through administrative leadership, generous hospitality in hosting conference gatherings, and the sacrificial release of its pastor to travel frequently in service of the wider connection. Churches also raised the equivalent of $3,000 to provide critical medicine for Cuban congregations—an extraordinary gift given their limited resources. May God richly bless each of these congregations as they continue to serve, witness, and lead with faith, generosity, and joy.

Looking ahead, leaders are prayerfully focused on planting additional churches, establishing fellowship with local churches in the U.S., strengthening pastoral support, expanding theological education, launching a GMC website for Mexico, and deepening mission outreach. Through prayer, generosity, and bold faith, the Mexico Annual Conference is growing as a vibrant witness to the transforming power of the gospel.

MEXICO AT A GLANCE

Episcopal Leadership

Bishop Leah Gregory

Conference Superintendent

Rev. David Almanza

Please be in prayer for the Mexico Annual Conference.

COMMISSION & COUNCIL UPDATES

Ecumenical Relationships

Not Your Grandparents’ Ecumenism

by Scott Field, Great Lakes Annual Conference

The word ecumenical often brings to mind high-level covenants, agreements, or study documents between denominational officials. Sometimes it might conjure images of a community food pantry operated by several churches in town, a parachurch ministry to college students, or a joint worship service during Holy Week led by a priest, a Messianic rabbi, and a Pentecostal minister. The Ecumenical Relationships Commission of the GMC has nothing against covenants between denominations; we’re involved with several of those institutional arrangements right now. 

But we are developing something much closer to and more immediately useful to our local GMC congregations: a six-session group resource for local churches called  (provisionally at this point) Holiness in Community: A Step-by-Step Guide for Building Local Partnerships with Other Christ-Followers. It will be available by download at no cost from the ERC webpage by late summer. The Ecumenical Relationships Commission webpage on the GMC website will also feature brief video testimonies of “local ecumenism” to accompany the six-sessions. For areas where video downloads are inaccessible, we plan to make manuscripts of the testimonies available on the ERC webpage. 

Our Commission takes the view that the Global Methodist Church has been raised up as part of a spiritual awakening throughout the world (see Colossians 1:6). The primary ministry unit of the Global Methodist Church is the local congregation, which says something about how we have understood ourselves from the beginning: our best work is done organically, at the grassroots level of neighborhoods and families of faith. That’s why the ERC places a priority on organically developed, mission-driven partnerships between congregations, local works of justice, compassion, and community relief, and parachurch ministries in the contexts in which disciples of Jesus find themselves. 

When local church partnerships develop, it’s an implicit witness to the essential oneness of the Jesus movement, a signal in our own time of what Jesus prayed over His disciples in Gethsemane: “that they may be one as we [He and the Father] are one” (John 17:11). It also deepens the well of God’s nourishing gifts and graces that He has given various individual congregations for the world around them, amplifying their potential impact for holiness and healing beyond what they might have done on their own. This resource will help focus the prayer, discernment, planning, listening, and execution of ministry in your local community, harnessing the gifts God has placed in your congregation and adjacent ones so that the Christ-followers in your area may witness to the gospel with greater strength, creativity, and resilience, and so that people and places around you may know God’s forgiving and healing love more fully. We’re passionate about helping local congregations ignite their love of the Lord and love for the communities in which the Lord has placed them. Holiness in Community: A Step-by-Step Guide for Building Local Partnerships with Other Christ-Followers will be a resource to amplify the spiritual awakening underway through GMC churches.

Kingdom Advancement

Engage Training during the Mega Manila Conference

In February, the Mega Manila Conference hosted a 2-day Engage Mission Mobilization training event in the Philippine province of Pampanga, bringing together participants for learning, worship, prayer, and meaningful connection. The equipping event was scheduled as a lead-in to their annual conference, with uplifting music that set a joyful and reverent tone, helping create an atmosphere of openness and expectancy.

Participants explored what it means to live "on mission," locally and around the world. Grounded in Scripture and highly interactive, the sessions fostered thoughtful dialogue and collaborative reflection. Focused times of prayer anchored the experience, inviting attendees to seek God’s presence and guidance together. One of the highlights (besides having Bishop Scott Jones and Mary Lou present!) was an opportunity to encounter the "UPG Wall," which was a display identifying the thousands of unreached people groups of the world - those who still need to hear the good news of Jesus.

The training was further enriched by heartfelt testimonies that bore witness to the goodness of God and the transforming power of His Son, Jesus Christ. Together, these elements shaped a meaningful experience that encouraged spiritual growth, strengthened community, and renewed commitment to faithful discipleship.

Engage Mission Mobilization training events are being scheduled for 2026 and 2027. If your conference is interested in hosting a Kingdom Advancement Engage training, contact Sherri Tabaka-Morrissey here.

Ministry and Higher Education

Expanding Horizons: MHED Approves More Seminaries and Programs

The Ministry and Higher Education Commission, together with its Certified Lay Ministry Program Certification Committee, has completed its review process and approved the first Certified Lay Ministry (CLM) program. We are pleased to announce that the South Carolina Conference CLM program has been granted Six-Year Approval, marking a significant milestone for lay ministry formation in the GMC.

In addition, the Committee on Approval continues to review applications from seminaries seeking recognition as approved educational institutions. This month, they added another seminary to our growing list of GMC approved schools.

Both the CLM Program Certification Committee and the Committee on Approval will continue evaluating and approving applications throughout this season. In the coming months, conferences and programs will also be able to submit CLM applications for approval, following a process similar to the seminary application process.

To stay up to date on GMC-approved seminaries, applications, and other resources, we encourage you to visit the commission’s webpage regularly.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2:42 Conference - Register Today

March 16-18, 2026 in Conroe, TX

Registration for 2:42 is well underway, so don't miss out and reserve your spot today!

Join us for the third annual 2:42 Conference, a gathering for young clergy (those early in their ministry journey—often under 40), seminary students, and those discerning a call to ordained ministry. Hosted by the Global Methodist Church, this conference offers space for encouragement, discipleship, and connection within a vibrant faith community.

 Location: First Methodist Conroe, Conroe, Texas

 $75 standard rate | $25 student rate

Hotel Information

If you’ll be traveling in for the conference, here are several nearby hotel options for your convenience. We encourage you to reserve early, as availability is limited.

Holiday Inn – Conroe

2240 Stoneside, Conroe, TX

👉 Book here: https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/find-hotels/select-roomrate?fromRedirect=true&qDest=2240 Stoneside, Conroe, TX, US

Comfort Inn – Conroe

1115 League Line Rd., Conroe, TX

👉 Book here: https://www.choicehotels.com/texas/conroe/comfort-inn-hotels/txp61

Best Western Lake Conroe

14643 Highway 105 W, Montgomery, TX

👉 Book here: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.44537.html

Learn more about the 2:42 Conference by clicking below

👉 Here

Engage Training

by the Kingdom Advancement Commission

April 14-16, 2026

This session will be held at Living Hope Church in Clermont, Florida, hosted by the Florida Annual Conference.

Training is open to everyone, but we especially encourage

conference superintendents, officers, presiding elders, conference mission leaders and members, pastors and local church mission leaders.

Engage offers training in:

• The roles of annual conferences and local church mission leaders
• An introduction to GMC missions
• Biblical foundations
• Structuring for mission mobilization
• Building healthy partnerships

Exponential 2026 Global Conference

March 16-19 in Orlando, FL

Learn about church multiplication and how healthy leaders can create lasting impact. Hear from speakers, connect with church planting leaders and kingdom innovators, and be inspired and equipped to multiply disciples and reproduce churches.

The Kingdom Advancement Commission will host a special Global Methodist Church pre-conference rally on March 16.

Email zach@dirtroadsnetwork.com with any questions.

CELEBRATING GOD AT WORK

Share Your Story: Celebrating God at Work Across the GMC

God is moving in powerful ways across the Global Methodist Church, and we want to help share those stories of faith, hope, and transformation.

We invite you to submit devotionals, personal testimonies, and encouraging stories that can be shared across our denomination. In particular, we would love to hear from:

• Individuals and teams who have participated in mission trips and witnessed God at work in meaningful ways
• New church plants and leaders willing to share their journey, challenges, and celebrations
• Churches and individuals with stories of faith, service, renewal, and transformation

Your story has the power to encourage, inspire, and strengthen our connection. If God is moving in your life or community, we want to hear about it!

You can submit your story using the link below and available on our website. Thank you for helping us celebrate and share what God is doing across the GMC.

PARTNERSHIP

SPOTLIGHT

Shores of Grace ministries exists to prevent sex trafficking and cycles of abuse, rescue the vulnerable, equip the church for lifelong service, and restore hearts through the transforming love of Christ.

Through a holistic, gospel-centered approach—prevent, rescue, restore, and equip—they meet people where the need is greatest, bringing hope, healing, and lasting change in the name of Jesus.

Discover how you can partner with and support this life-changing ministry by visiting their website at the link below.

FOLLOW US ON

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!

communications@globalmethodist.org | 540.898.4960

www.globalmethodist.org