Bishops ask all to help shape church’s future

Key points:

• The Council of Bishops hopes to engage the entire United Methodist Church in the coming Leadership Gathering, set for October this year in Canada.
• All United Methodists will have the opportunity to fill out a survey to share their dreams for the gathering.
• The bishops also plan a series of webinars around the denomination’s new vision to promote a sense of shared Wesleyan identity.

The Council of Bishops hopes to give every United Methodist a voice in the future-shaping work of this year’s Leadership Gathering.

The bishops plan for 300 participants from four continents to attend the gathering, set for Oct. 20-24 at Knox United Church in Calgary, Canada. The event — with the theme “Emboldened by the Spirit: Imagining a Church Yet to Be” — aims to help United Methodists prayerfully discern their next chapter together after a painful season of disaffiliations.

Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. — co-convener of the event’s design team — stressed that this gathering is not just for the people who will be in Calgary.

“This gathering belongs to the whole Church,” he said in a statement.

To that end, Saenz and his fellow bishops have released a survey asking for United Methodists to share their hopes and wisdom for what the gathering should achieve.

Also in preparation for the gathering, the bishops and the event’s design team are inviting all church members to engage in a three-part series of webinars that will explore the Wesleyan underpinnings of the denomination’s new vision statement.

The vision, unveiled last year, states: “The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.”

Ultimately, the bishops and design team members hope the gathering — and the activities leading up to it — will help The United Methodist Church build on that vision to follow where the Holy Spirit is leading.

“This engagement initiative reflects who God is calling us to be as a connectional Church — grounded in prayerful discernment, shaped by voices from across the global connection and attentive to the movement of the Holy Spirit,” Council of Bishops President Tracy S. Malone said in a statement. 

Saenz told United Methodist News that he wants United Methodists to “take a page out of Moses’ playbook.”

“Talk about the land filled with milk and honey, and that will get people above the context of Egypt and help them lift their sights above the desert,” said Saenz, who is also the incoming Council of Bishops president.

“Because if there’s a compelling vision that transcends the day-to-day struggles, then people have hope. And so, part of this is to cast a vision so compelling that it raises us above the infighting and focuses us on what really matters.”

The 15-question survey — available in English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Tagalog — asks United Methodists what they hope the denomination will prioritize, what they envision for the church 50 years into the future, and what message they want leadership gathering participants to carry forward.

Stephanie Henry, the design team’s co-convener, said the gathering’s organizers are not asking for input just to do what they planned anyway. She expects the team to fully integrate the survey’s findings and webinar conversations into the Leadership Gathering’s agenda — with session descriptions explicitly referencing which community voices they address.

Henry, who previously served as chair of General Conference’s Rules Committee, is excited about the opportunity for lay people like her to help influence the church without legislation or mastering Robert’s Rules of Order.

“Tell us: What do you want the gathering participants to walk in the room with? What do you want them to talk about? And what do you want them to take out?” she said.

Bishops are encouraging pastors to dedicate time during Sunday worship for congregations to participate collectively using QR codes.

Wespath, the denomination’s benefits and investments agency, joined with United Methodist Communications to put together the survey. UM News is part of United Methodist Communications.

Christina Tincher, Wespath’s managing director for communications, said the two agencies designed the survey “with the full global connection in mind — using a worldwide, mobile‑friendly platform, offering six language translations, and designing a clear, accessible format that welcomes every voice.”

Wespath will analyze the results.

“We hope people feel encouraged to participate,” she added, “so they are heard and the church can listen!”

The webinars are another way United Methodists around the globe can get involved. They will be recorded with interpretation in American Sign Language, French, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

The webinars, all scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, will each focus on a different phrase in the denomination’s vision and how that phrase lines up with Wesleyan teachings. The webinars also will each include diverse panelists from across the global United Methodist connection.

Ashley Boggan, a design team member and the top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, took the lead in organizing the webinars.

“It’s a way to provide for education around the basics of Wesleyan theology, missiology and ecclesiology, so that we’re all starting from the same place,” she said. “The webinars are being open to all United Methodists because we could all stand a fresh start on what our identity is in all of its wonderful forms. But also, you know, in October, one of the things we hope to do is really discern the future of theology, missiology and ecclesiology.”

The scheduled webinars are:

• “Love Boldly” on theology Jan. 24: Exploring the foundations of Wesleyan theology and how they shape United Methodist identity today. Participants will reflect on core theological commitments, shared beliefs and how theology informs who we are as Wesleyans and as The United Methodist Church. People can register to attend at this site.
• “Serve Joyfully” on missiology Feb. 21: Examining Wesleyan approaches to mission, with attention to mutuality, formation, and decolonial perspectives. Participants will engage in how mission is practiced in relationship, shaped by context and grounded in a call to serve with humility and joy.
• “Lead Courageously” on ecclesiology March 21: Focusing on Wesleyan understandings of church life and leadership. Participants will explore the connection, shared leadership and ways the church is reimagining structures and practices to support faithful and courageous leadership in a global context.

The design team also has scheduled a virtual pre-gathering on April 25 for the 300 participants that will help them prepare for meeting in person in October.

Boggan said one of the goals for the webinars and the Leadership Gathering itself is to highlight “new voices and younger voices.”

“We looked for the unknown folks — the people who don’t already have a platform or a main stage to get their desire for the UMC out there,” she said.

Saenz said he ultimately expects the webinars and Leadership Gathering to help with evangelism.

“I think the way that we do theology, missiology and ecclesiology is good news for people who are de-churched, unchurched, post church and everything else, because they say, ‘Wow, there is space for me here,’” he said. “And so, I do envision that this work will be kind of the foundation of imagining a church where people can believe and belong and be a faithful disciple of Christ.”

Over recent decades, Saenz said, church members have learned to do infighting very well. Now, he said is the time to focus on carrying out the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

“I’m hoping that the support for the vision statement of the church — to love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously — has some muscle and ligaments,” he said, “so that we can say, ‘Yeah, this is who we are. This is what we do. This is why we do it.’”

Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.