A soccer-loving pastor has used his passion to nurture young players’ skills and draw new members to St. James Hwedza United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe.
Thousands of United Methodists gathered at two jubilee conventions, showing the church is “active and full of life” in the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area, church leaders say, even as some regions in Africa face turmoil post-General Conference.
Born to German immigrants in Colonial Pennsylvania, Jacob Albright (Jakob Albrecht) would go on to found the Evangelical Association, one of The United Methodist Church’s predecessor denominations. Albright’s early life was marked by tragedy and hardship, which directly led him into ministry.
Bethany United Methodist Church suffered from declining membership because of an aging population that no longer reflected its neighborhood. But the congregation is doing something about it.
