Pastors and lay leaders from across The Wesleyan Church gathered in 22 District Conferences this summer to worship, pray, make decisions, celebrate ministry and look toward what God is doing next.
The business mattered. So did the moments between the business.
Across North America, we heard stories of people coming to faith, churches reaching their communities, new leaders stepping forward and pastors faithfully serving in difficult places. We also saw something harder to measure but just as important: a growing desire to move forward together.
ONE is becoming more than a denominational theme. It is becoming a posture. District Conference season gave us a glimpse of what that can look like.
Faithfulness is bearing fruit
The Pacific Southwest District reported 4,917 first-time decisions for Christ, 1,432 baptisms, 12% attendance growth and a 40.2% increase in salvations. Five new church plants were received into the district family, 29 churches adopted new outreach strategies and 178 people responded to God’s call to ministry.
That is more than encouraging news. It is evidence that evangelism, discipleship and multiplication are still taking root in local churches.
Western New York newly licensed & ordained (2026)
In Western New York, leaders celebrated baptisms, new and developing churches, 12 new licensed ministers and a growing commitment to multiplication. The district’s conference materials highlighted new ministry expressions, church planting and a desire to reach people who are far from Jesus.
The Crossroads District Conference gave a platform to stories of investment in the next generation. One testimony shared at the conference told how one individual’s willingness to help a teenager, Charlie, attend a youth conference in 1982 eventually shaped a lifetime of ministry. Charlie’s story is now being shared, calling the church to invest in another generation through FOLLOW 2026.
These stories may come from different places, but they carry the same message: God is still calling people to himself, and he’s still calling his church to go.
We are strengthening the church for mission
District Conferences also reminded us that healthy ministry requires healthy leaders.
Three districts welcomed new district superintendents this year: Dr. Chris Williams in Crossroads, Reverend Tony Bye in Indiana South and Dr. Dwight Nash in Kansas. Pacific Southwest continued its search for a new district superintendent while moving forward under an interim district superintendent, Reverend Dave Johnson. The Wesleyan Church’s district directory now reflects these leadership transitions across the movement.
Leadership development was visible in other ways, too. In Mountain Plains, the 2026 District Conference included an entire day of resourcing, breakout discussions and ministry conversations before the formal business session.
South Carolina District Conference (2026)
And perhaps most encouraging, several districts intentionally commissioned lay people for ministry in the places God has already placed them. That included our newest Global Partners missionaries — three-fourths of them are Gen Z — who are united in their passion for taking the hope of Jesus to the nations. God is calling each new generation to his mission. That’s a reason to celebrate!
The church’s mission doesn’t belong to pastors and missionaries alone. It belongs to all his children whom he has placed in neighborhoods, schools, corporations, businesses and communities to share the good news of the gospel. While we need ordained ministers who are deeply formed and faithfully equipped, we also need every Jesus follower to understand that they are being sent.
We had important conversations about who we are
District Conferences also carried significant constitutional business following General Conference
Delegates across all 22 districts considered and ratified Memorial 53: Sanctity of Life and Memorial 55: Gender Identity by a 97% approval rating each. These votes represent more than policy decisions. They are part of the way Wesleyans prayerfully discern together how our theology shapes our witness and life as a church.
And importantly, these conversations happened within a larger pattern we saw throughout the summer: we can disagree, deliberate and make important decisions without losing sight of one another.
We experienced church as family
Some of the most meaningful summer moments were never on an agenda. Across the movement, people gathered impromptu around each other in celebration and in grief — coming together as ONE.
North Carolina East ordination service (2026)
There were also sacred moments in ordination services. This summer 110 pastors were ordained, including 34 women. Twenty licensed ministers were commissioned for ministry in their neighborhoods and communities.
In all of it, a recurring sense that we belong to something larger than our individual churches, districts or ministries was found.
We belong to one another because we belong to Christ. That is the heart of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21: “That they may all be one … so that the world may believe.”
The goal of our oneness is not simply that we work better together. It’s that the world might see Jesus more clearly through his church.
This summer gave us reason to hope.
There’s a hunger among our pastors and churches to reach the lost. A new generation is saying yes to God’s call. Churches are experiencing new life and leaders are stepping forward in obedience. There are Wesleyans praying for one another across geographic, generational and cultural lines.
Let’s keep going, praying and reaching for one more soul. Make disciples, raise up leaders, plant churches and continue saying yes to the Holy Spirit.
And let’s keep praying Jesus’ prayer:
Lord, help us live and lead as ONE, so the world may believe in Jesus Christ.
Christ is making his church new. And when Christ makes his church new, he makes us ONE.
Kory Pence is the executive director of Communications for The Wesleyan Church.
