The Rev. Keith Boyette addresses a Wesleyan Covenant Association gathering in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by Steve Beard.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) has named the Rev. Keith Boyette as their first president. Boyette is a member of the Virginia Annual Conference and founded the Wilderness Community United Methodist Church 19 years ago. For eight years, Boyette served on the Judicial Council, known as the “Supreme Court” of The United Methodist Church, and was elected by his peers to serve as secretary of the Council. Prior to responding to God’s call to ordained ministry in the UM Church, Boyette was a practicing attorney in Virginia and Kentucky.

“We are very pleased to have Keith as our first president,” said Dr. Jeff Greenway, the Chair of the Wesleyan Covenant Association Council and pastor of Reynoldsburg (Ohio) United Methodist Church. “He has been an integral member of the team that cast the vision for the WCA from the very beginning and is committed to the renewal of the church. He has vast experience in our denomination, and has demonstrated an ability to relate to a wide variety of people. He embodies our commitment to vibrant, evangelical, orthodox, Wesleyan Christianity, and to renewing the theology and practice of our denomination.”

Boyette most recently served as counsel to Mrs. Dixie Brewster before the Judicial Council in her petition to nullify the election of Bishop Karen Oliveto (page 34).

“I am humbled and excited by the opportunity to begin my service as President of the Wesleyan Covenant Association,” said Boyette. “I have contended for the advancement of evangelical, orthodox, Wesleyan Christianity throughout my adult life. This is a crucial season for those committed to a vibrant expression of the Christian faith that is true to the best of our heritage as we seek the most beneficial outcome for maintaining our beliefs with the approaching Special General Conference in February 2019. I look forward to working with others to ensure that we have deeply committed leadership possessing a fervent passion for the cause of Christ and to connecting churches, clergy, and laity in this endeavor.”

“Building a new organization from the ground up is what Keith does,” said the Rev. Carolyn Moore, the vice-chair of the WCA Council and pastor of Mosaic UM Church in Augusta, Georgia. “He comes to the WCA after 19 years of successfully planting and developing a healthy, creative expression of ‘church’ in Virginia. Having him in the lead as we craft a net wide enough to hold everyone ready to do a new thing is a real grace. I’m grateful to Keith for his willingness to step up and take us into the next Methodism.”

The Wesleyan Covenant Association was formed and their governing Council was elected at a gathering of 1,800 persons last October in Chicago. In its first seven months of existence it has grown to have membership from every Annual and Central Conference in United Methodism. Naming Boyette as president is the next step in the development of this growing organization that is committed to the theological and practical renewal of the UM Church.

Wesleyan Covenant Association press release. Editor’s note: The Rev. Keith Boyette is a former board member of Good News.