United Methodist bishops have called for a leadership gathering unlike the typical church meeting — one without parliamentary procedure or political wrangling.
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Instead of deciding the denomination’s future, bishops expect the gathering’s participants to be dreaming and praying about what comes next for The United Methodist Church.
The Council of Bishops announced Sept. 5 that it was planning a five-day leadership gathering in April or May 2026 — rather than calling for a special session of General Conference. The bishops said their goal for the gathering is to “advance the positive momentum” of this year’s historic General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The bishops’ plan immediately prompted concern from some United Methodists and excitement from others. But no matter their initial reactions, just about everyone has questions about what shape the event will take.
Malone will name a design team to determine the gathering’s logistics, with specific dates and venue to be announced later.
Malone said the bishops announced the possibility of a special session in hopes of easing some anxieties. The hope was to tell the wider denomination that if this year’s General Conference ended in deadlock, the bishops were prepared to bring delegates together again “to figure out a way to hold this church together.”
But after this year’s General Conference, she said, “we came to the conclusion we didn’t need to have a special session, but we do need to convene and bring people together to build on that momentum.”
In other news, by 78% of the vote, delegates approved amending the constitution to allow for regionalization. Under regionalization, The United Methodist Church in the U.S. and the central conferences in Africa, Philippines and Europe would each become regional conferences with the same authority to adapt certain parts of the Book of Discipline for missional effectiveness — including on matters such as ordination standards and marriage rites.
The bishops are planning a leadership gathering without knowing the outcome of the votes on regionalization.
Malone said the bishops hope to have constitutional amendment votes take place in all of the denomination’s 131 annual conferences by the end of next year. Bishops then plan to certify vote results when they meet in spring 2026, likely around the time of the leadership gathering. But even without having a complete vote tally, she expects the bishops and others at the gathering will have a sense of what the results will be.
“No matter what, we’re planning to have the leadership gathering in April or May,” she said.
But if regionalization passes, she said, she could see participants discussing what the next step should be to both allow for contextual ministry while not losing the core United Methodist value of connection.
The question of who will be part of the 2028 General Conference conversations is among the main concerns some United Methodists expressed about the leadership gathering.
The plan is for the participants to be active bishops, Council of Bishops officers, the top executives of the denomination’s 13 general agencies and three leaders from each of the denomination’s 53 episcopal areas chosen by the bishop in consultation with the lay and clergy leaders in that area.
The Council of Bishops also plans to invite about 50 additional United Methodists to include young people. Altogether, this means the gathering will have fewer than 300 participants.
This is very different from General Conference, where annual conferences elect the delegates who vote.
Beyond exact dates and the venue, the bishops also are still trying to figure out various details.
That includes how to fund the gathering. In the denomination-wide budget passed at General Conference, delegates designated $7 million for a special session if the bishops chose to call one. But that money can only be used for a special session.
Malone sees the gathering as helping United Methodists express their faith in new, exciting ways that draw more people to Christ.
excerpt from a story by Heather Hahn, assistant news editor for UM News.
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