Meeting Minutes List

Describe the item or answer the question so that site visitors who are interested get more information. You can emphasiConferences Commission
Meeting Minutes
March 19, 2026
Members Present: Clark Atkins, Lori Smith, Bishop Scott Jones, Bishop Leah Gregory, Mickey Wheeler, Teresa Marcus, Wilton Odongo, Elizabeth Sullivan, Kathryn Chittenden, Kevin Ryoo, Alban Gonda, Virgilio Olonan, Bradley DeHaven
Guest: Simon Mafunda
Loving
I. Joys & Concerns
II. Opening Prayer
a. Meeting opened with prayer at 7:12 am
Learning
I. Venezuela Update [Clark Atkins]
a. Venezuela is a standing denomination (Venezuelan Methodist Church) with 50-60 churches and is seeking to join the Global Methodist Church as an annual conference. The Venezuelan Methodist Church has submitted a plan of union under paragraph 813.7, which has been approved by the Assembly of Bishops and is scheduled to be acted upon at an upcoming Connectional Council meeting. Upon joining the Global Methodist Church, the Venezuelan Methodist Church would dissolve and allow individual churches to opt out if they did not want to join. Additionally, all existing bylaws and potential polity differences will be resolved to bring them into alignment with the Global Methodist Church.
II. Insights from India [Clark Atkins]
a. Clark Atkins shared insights from his recent travels to India, addressing questions about infrastructure and technology. He confirmed that India has adequate internet and technology infrastructure but noted cultural challenges around transparency and regional differences that affect decision-making processes. Also, linguistic diversity in India (English, Hindi, many regional languages), as well as significant illiteracy rates in some areas, affect the ability to make decisions.
III. Insights from Joint Commission Chairs/Connectional Council/Assembly of Bishops Meeting [Clark Atkins; Bishop Gregory; Bishop Jones]
a. There was a meeting with Commission Chairs, Connectional Council, and Assembly of Bishops to develop a strategic framework for the Global Methodist Church. Key takeaways included the need to move away from U.S.-centric processes and language to become more globally focused, with participants expressing unity on wanting to function as an evangelistic movement with clear episcopal leadership. The group identified the need for better communication loops and discussed upcoming General Conference legislation aimed at implementing these strategic changes.
IV. Discussion of Proposed Legislation for General Conference [Mickey; Wilton; Elizabeth]
Leading
I. Approve Minutes from 05 February 2026 Meeting
a. Approved.
II. Reports
a. Global Inquiry Team [Mickey]
i. A few inquiries have been received and responded to.
III. Old Business
a. Venezuela AC Application
i. Approved.
b. Proposed Legislation for General Conference [Mickey; Wilton; Elizabeth] i. A motion made. Seconded, Approved.
c. Peru AC Application
i. Awaiting submission of the application. An email vote will be taken.
d. Recommendations for Approval of Clergy Applications
1. Peru
2. Western Europe
Approved.
e. Recommendations for Approval of Church Applications
1. Brazil
2. Vietnam
3. Western Europe
Approved.
IV. New Business
a. Request from Leadership Group in South Africa AC to Divide Conference i. Motion made to dismiss the request to form two separate annual conferences. Seconded. Approved.
b. Myanmar TCAT Application
i. Motion made to approve the Myanmar TCAT Application. Approved. V. Upcoming Dates:
a. Petition Submission Deadline May 1, 2026
b. Brazil Interviews/TCAT Training May 23-24, 2026
c. DRC ACs Convening Conferences July 2026
d. Nile Valley AC Convening Conference Summer 2026
e. Vietnam AC Convening Conference Fall 2026
VI. Closing Prayer/Adjournmentze this text with bullets, italics or bold, and add links.