The Global Methodist Church adopted a new set of Articles of Faith and elected eight bishops to its first regular Assembly of Bishops as its General Conference concluded Sept. 5 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
According to the denomination, the bishops were chosen over five ballots and consecrated on the conference’s final day. They will serve as general superintendents during the 2026-2032 term beginning Nov. 1.
The newly elected bishops are Luther Oconer, Johnathan Lee, Mark Webb, Lyndol Loyd, Jerry Kulah, Eduard Khegay, Paul Lawler and Carolyn Moore, with each assigned to one of eight episcopal areas.
Their election replaces the temporary episcopal structure put in place at the denomination’s 2024 Convening General Conference in San José, Costa Rica. Bishops concluding active service are John Pena Auta, Kimba Evariste, Jeffrey Greenway, Leah Gregory, Scott Jones and Kenneth Levingston.
In a letter accompanying the conference statement, the Assembly of Bishops said the transition will occur Oct. 31, when the outgoing bishops step down.
Delegates also selected members of the Connectional Council, commissions and other denomination-wide governing bodies.
The Johannesburg gathering was the second General Conference since the Global Methodist Church launched in May 2022 as a theologically conservative alternative to the United Methodist Church, and it was the denomination’s first General Conference held in Africa. Clergy and lay delegates met under the theme “The Beauty of Holiness” and considered 451 petitions.
The denomination announced on the final day that the Articles of Faith had been approved by an overwhelming margin, describing them as a common statement of belief for churches across the connection.
The document was developed by the Discipleship, Doctrine and Just Ministry Commission with input from church members and was further refined through the legislative process. The Doctrine and Sacraments Legislative Committee used the commission’s report, Petition 1441, as the foundation for its work in Johannesburg.
Church leaders said the purpose of the Articles of Faith was to clearly express the beliefs shared across Global Methodist congregations in a form rooted in historic Christianity and the Wesleyan tradition.
The 451 petitions were first reviewed by eight legislative committees covering doctrine and sacraments, social witness, local churches, ministry, superintendency, conferences, connectional organization and finance, and judicial administration before moving to the full conference for consideration.
The denomination said a complete record of approved legislation and other official actions will be published after final review and certification by the General Conference secretary.
The Rev. Mike Schafer, the denomination’s connectional operations officer, reported that the Global Methodist Church has grown from about 4,700 congregations following the 2024 General Conference to approximately 7,250.
The number of annual conferences also increased from 36 to 55 during the same period, with six additional emerging areas that could eventually become annual conferences. The denomination said the number of annual conferences outside the United States has more than doubled.
