Discipleship Ministries Holds 2024 Board Meeting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. October 14, 2024/Discipleship Ministries/ - Discipleship Ministries recently held its first board meeting of the quadrennium from October 1–3, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. Board members from across the worldwide United Methodist connection gathered to build relationships, strategize, and align around the priorities for the upcoming year.

The meeting opened and closed with worship, grounding board members in their mission and emphasizing their sacred responsibility in the ministry ahead. Worship services featured prayers, reflections, and a spirit of unity that inspired the board to approach the discussions with a deep sense of purpose. The board also had the opportunity to participate in a special World Communion service alongside the staff of Discipleship Ministries and The General Council on Finance and Administration.

During the meeting, the board officially welcomed its new members, who bring a range of expertise and perspectives to guide Discipleship Ministries’ work. These new voices are set to play a crucial role in supporting the agency's strategic vision.

Leadership Roles

The new board elected its officers: Board President Bishop Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez; Vice President Bishop Daniel Wandabula; Secretary Rev. Abby Parker-Herrara; and Treasurer, CFO Janet Jamieson. Rev. Jeff Campbell was re-elected as Discipleship Ministries General Secretary and CEO. Led by President Burgos-Núñez, the board was oriented to the work of Discipleship Ministries, reviewed board responsibilities, and completed cultural competency training supported by Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, General Secretary of The General Commission on Religion and Race. Chairs were elected for each of the board committees: Maggie Taylor, Finance; Tripp Gulledge, Evaluation and Transitions; Kevin Lazarus, Legislation; Katharina Roth, Central Conference; Dawn Skerritt, World Service Ministries; Drew Dyson, Upper Room Ministries. President Burgos-Núñez noted for the body how many young adults had been elected chairs, celebrating that the church's future is now and leading us well. General Secretary Campbell and the Leadership Team of Discipleship Ministries laid out a strategic vision for moving forward, sharing current realities and struggles, and excitement around expanding and strengthening discipleship across the worldwide United Methodist connection.

General Secretary Campbell reflected on the election of President Héctor Burgos-Núñez, “Bishop Burgos-Núñez brings a deep commitment to The United Methodist connection and always emphasizes the need to utilize the gifts and resources of our boards and agencies for the work of the church, and for this, the staff of Discipleship Ministries is grateful.” Bishop Héctor Burgos-Núñez added, “Rev. Campbell's re-election not only reflects the board's confidence in his continued leadership in guiding the mission and strategic direction of Discipleship Ministries, it also highlights a commitment to ensuring that Discipleship Ministries remains at the forefront of equipping church leaders and supporting congregations globally as they nurture passionate disciples of Jesus Christ that share faith, love, mercy, and justice in their every-day lives, the Wesleyan way.”

Strategic Priorities and Key Discussions

A central focus of the meeting was orienting board members to the work of Discipleship Ministries and asking for feedback to inform the strategic direction pulling from the experience and perspective of board members. Some of the significant initiatives shared were the expansion of BELONG resource series, aimed at creating a United Methodist identity grounded in our sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, the continuation of the See All The People initiative, sharing clips from the latest Disciples in the Marketplace video series, as well as giving an update on the Hey Preacher project, and envisioning how we can more strategically assist in the creation of contextual resources with the Central Conference. These resources are designed to equip church leaders with practical tools to create a welcoming environment for all and enhance discipleship engagement.

Celebrating The Upper Room

The Upper Room is an ecumenical ministry of The United Methodist Church that helps people create daily life with God through its books, daily devotional magazine, and programs. The board was oriented to each of these areas, highlighting the growth seen in Upper Room Books, with its top-selling Advent and Lenten books, popular Disciplines series, Safer Sanctuaries, and celebrating the appearance of Missy Buchanan’s book, Feeling Your Way Through Grief, on Good Morning America. The Upper Room Programs — including Emmaus Ministries, The Academy for Spiritual Formation, and the newly formed Center for Healing & Resilience — celebrated consistent growth both in the U.S. and globally. The Upper Room daily devotional guide, which began in 1935, continues to expand, now serving the world in 33 languages through its publishing partners.

Continued Growth of Fund Development

Fund Development for both The Upper Room and World Service Ministries continues to gain traction with the steady growth of its champions and supporters. Each year Fund Development celebrates larger and larger planned gifts from donors impacted by its resources and ministries. How can you help? 1.) Pray for our work and for our donors. 2.) Join our donor family: World Service Ministries: UMCDiscipleship.org/donate; The Upper Room: UpperRoom.org/gift. 3.) Spread the word and share with us your stories of impact.

Board Actions

The Discipleship Ministries board: approved three RELCC (Racial Ethnic Local Church Concerns) Grants totaling $18,455 and nine Sam Taylor Fund grants totaling $114,040; elected a board member to be a part of the new Young People’s Connectional Network forming in January 2025; received the reports from SBC21 (Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century) and NACP (Native American Comprehensive Plan); approved adding an AI Officer to report regularly to the board to oversee this developing work and strategy; approved 14 Kern Fund requests totaling $1,078,850 for innovative or income-generating projects that expand the capacity of World Service Ministries; reviewed and received General Conference legislative referrals to Discipleship Ministries; and approved the 2025 Budget and received the clean 2023 audit from Cherry Bekaert.

The next board meeting of Discipleship Ministries is scheduled for March 6-7, 2025, and will be conducted online.

For more information about upcoming initiatives and to engage with our resources, visit UpperRoom.org, UMCDiscipleship.org, and check out our BELONG series here.