May is a significant month for the Global Methodist Church. On May 1, we celebrated our third anniversary as a denomination. In just three years, God has led us through many milestones. We held our first General Conference, where we adopted our official Book of Doctrine and Discipline. We elected new bishops and welcomed new conferences into our growing global connection. Since then, even more conferences and mission areas have joined the movement. It’s hard to keep up with the pace of growth, but here’s a glimpse: at our last General Conference, 30 conferences sent official delegates. As of now, 57 conferences are preparing to send delegations to the 2026 General Conference. (The dates and location for that gathering were recently announced.)
This month, the Commission on Kingdom Advancement is inviting every local church to recognize May as Kingdom Advancement Month. This is a time to focus on evangelism, church planting, mission mobilization, outreach to unreached people groups, and disaster response.
We encourage you to engage your congregation and community in one or more of these areas. Consider emphasizing baptisms—calling people to baptism and inviting them to remember their own. Explore ways to participate in church multiplication. Share how your church is prepared to respond in times of disaster. However God leads you, let May be a time of active ministry and bold witness.
As a young denomination, it's easy to focus inward—to concentrate on structure, systems, and getting our house in order. Those are important. But we must also keep our eyes on the world that needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to shine His light.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:14–16:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
This passage captures a holy tension: letting our light shine not for our own sake, but for the glory of God. We are not just building a conference—we are advancing the Kingdom of God as part of His mission in the world.
Join me and other Global Methodists as we pray and participate in God’s work around the globe. Our bishops have invited us to 40 days of prayer, running from April 30 to Pentecost Sunday, June 8. Let’s especially lift up the people of Africa, where many are facing hardship and violence.
Let’s celebrate what God has done—and commit to what He is still doing through us.
