As clergy and lay leaders of healthy, vibrant, and orthodox United Methodist congregations, and as teachers preparing the future clergy leaders of our denomination, we welcome the creation of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. In these times of great uncertainty about the future of The United Methodist Church, we believe it is important for orthodox congregations, clergy, and laity to work together, to support one another, and to encourage each other. We long for a church committed to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the last, the least, and the lost.

Committed to the Wesleyan expression of orthodox Christianity, we believe the church can and must do better. We are alarmed by the growing loss in average worship attendance in many of our annual conferences. We regret the now numerous instances where colleagues in ministry have broken covenant with the rest of the church and sowed the seeds of schism. We are grieved by the actions of annual conferences that have decided not to conform to our Discipline. And we are disappointed in leaders who have failed to maintain the good order of the church. Consequently, the work of faithful pastors and laity has been undermined, healthy congregations have left the denomination, and thousands of United Methodists have gone in search of other places to worship and serve.

We believe the Wesleyan Covenant Association will give orthodox United Methodists hope for the future and serve as a source of encouragement as the church works through a critical period of discernment. We want to serve in close partnership with our brothers and sisters in Africa, Europe and the Philippines. And we want to be prepared to act as one in light of the important work and recommendations of the Bishops’ Commission on the Future of the Church. We encourage all orthodox clergy and laity to remain steadfast and faithful in these uncertain times. We believe the Wesleyan Covenant Association will bind us together and make us a strong, united witness for Scriptural Christianity.

We believe that God is “doing a new thing.” We believe a new and better day is coming for the people called Methodist who are committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, and the church’s being a missional force determined to reach a lost culture. We yearn to step into this new future together with others of like minds and hearts.

Please visit the Wesleyan Covenant Association website (www.wesleyancovenant.org) to learn more about it. We also hope you will plan to join us in Chicago on October 7, 2016, for the first gathering of the association.

We are confident you will be hearing more about the association in the weeks and months ahead, and we trust you will join us as we band together for the sake of a vibrant, Wesleyan expression of orthodox Christianity.

In Christ,

 

Billy Abraham, Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas

Bill Arnold, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky

Ryan Barnett, Kerrville First UMC, Kerrville, Texas

Keith Boyette, Wilderness Community UMC, Spotsylvania,    Virginia

Larry Bryars, Frazer UMC, Montgomery, Alabama

Madeline Carrasco Henners, Luling First UMC, Luling, Texas

Kenneth J. Collins, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore,    Kentucky

Ferrell Coppedge (lay), Mt. Bethel UMC, Marietta, Georgia

Bryan Collier, The Orchard UMC, Tupelo, Mississippi

Jennifer Cowart (lay), Harvest UMC, Byron, Georgia

Jim Cowart, Harvest UMC, Byron, Georgia

Dan Dalton (lay), Dalton & Tomich, Detroit, Michigan

Joe DiPaolo, First UMC, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Maxie Dunnam, Christ UMC, Memphis, Tennessee

Walter Fenton, Good News, The Woodlands, Texas

Scott Field, Crystal Lake UMC, Crystal Lake, Illinois

John Gaulke, Altoona UMC, Altoona, Iowa

John Gerlach, Trinity UMC, Windsor, Connecticut

Tommy Gray, Asbury UMC, Madison, Alabama

Jeff Greenway, Reynoldsburg UMC, Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Joy Griffin (lay), International Leadership Institute,

Carollton, Georgia

Wes Griffin, International Leadership Institute,

Carollton, Georgia

Daniel Hannon, Christ UMC, The Woodlands, Texas

Jeff Harper, Evangelical UMC, Greenville, Ohio

Tom Harrison, Asbury UMC, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Jeff Jernigan (lay), Powder Springs, Georgia

Randy Jessen, Parker UMC, Parker, Colorado

Rick Just, Asbury UMC, Wichita, Kansas

Charles Kyker, Christ UMC, Hickory, North Carolina

Jessica LaGrone, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore,

Kentucky

Thomas Lambrecht, Good News, The Woodlands, Texas

Jim Leggett, Grace Fellowship UMC, Katy, Texas

Kenneth Levingston, Jones Memorial UMC, Houston, Texas

Greg McGarvey (retired elder), Indiana Annual

Conference, Fishers, Indiana

Andrew B. Miller (lay), Franklin, Tennessee

Pat Miller, (lay) The Confessing Movement, Indianapolis,

Indiana

Carolyn Moore, Mosaic UMC, Evans, Georgia

Mike Morgan, Marion First UMC, Marion, Iowa

Norman Neel (lay), San Augustine, Texas

Martin Nicholas, Sugarland UMC, Sugarland, Texas

Craig Peters, Shueyville UMC, Shueyville, Iowa

Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel UMC, Marietta, Georgia

Rob Renfroe, The Woodlands UMC, The Woodlands, Texas

Chris Ritter, Geneseo First UMC, Geneseo, Illinois

Ed Robb III, The Woodlands UMC, The Woodlands, Texas

Chuck Savage, Sardis UMC, Atlanta, Georgia

Branson Sheets, Covenant UMC, Winterville, North Carolina

Stephen Sparks, Indianola UMC, Indianola, Mississippi

Shane Stanford, Christ UMC, Memphis, Tennessee

Greg Stover (retired elder), West Ohio Annual Conference,

Lake Waynoka, Ohio

Andrew Thompson, Springdale First UMC, Springdale,

Arkansas

Richard Thompson, First UMC, Bakersfield, California

David Watson, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio

Ken Werlein, Faithbridge UMC, Spring, Texas

Max Wilkins, The Mission Society, Norcross, Georgia

 

* Church names provided only for identificational purposes.