2026 General Conference

Episcopal Elections

2026 Episcopal Elections Process Overview

Episcopal Elections

The Global Methodist Church will elect a regular, full-time slate of bishops at its 2026 General Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa

(Aug. 30-Sept. 5). In overseeing the process of episcopal elections, your Global Episcopacy Committee is governed by our Book of Doctrines and Discipline (BDD), particularly ¶604.

Key Dates

March 15, 2026: Delegations submissions due
May 30, 2026: Plenary Gathering
July 22, 2026: Area Committees on Episcopacy provide ranked top five choices

Nominee Info Intake Form

Connectional Conversations - January 16, 2026

Episcopacy Election Process

In this Connectional Conversations video, learn about the episcopacy election process for General Conference 2026. Our speakers join us from the Global Episcopacy Committee: Chris Ritter (chair), Jason Burnham (vice chair) and Tyson Heins (member).

View in other languages: French | Korean | Portuguese | Spanish

Read the transcript in Kiswahili

Expectations for the 2026 Election Process

Global Episcopacy Committee

The Global Episcopacy Committee approaches the nomination and election of bishops as a sacred act of prayerful discernment within the body of Christ. The Committee therefore calls those nominated for episcopal service to participate in this process with humility, integrity, and deep reliance upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture reminds us that the Lord ultimately directs the decisions of His people and grants wisdom to those who seek Him in faith (Proverbs 16:33; James 1:5–8). For this reason, the election of bishops is not understood as a political contest, but as a spiritual discernment of those whom God is calling to shepherd His Church.

The office of bishop is a sacred trust. Those who may be called to this role are entrusted with guarding the faith, equipping the Church for ministry, and shepherding the people of God. Accordingly, episcopal nominees are expected to demonstrate the biblical qualifications for spiritual leadership described in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; Acts 6:3).

Throughout the nomination and election process, nominees and those assisting them are expected to model Christlike character, seeking the unity of the Church and avoiding actions that could foster division, rivalry, or personal ambition (Ephesians 4:1–6; Philippians 2:1–4). The manner in which we all conduct ourselves during this season should reflect the humility, holiness, and servant leadership that comport with our highest ideals.

In keeping with the spirit of prayerful discernment, the Global Episcopacy Committee expects nominees to refrain from campaigning or electioneering. The distribution of promotional materials, organized advocacy, or attempts to influence delegates through verbal, written, or digital lobbying do not reflect the spirit in which the Church seeks to discern its episcopal leadership. Nominees should likewise refrain from encouraging or benefiting from such activities undertaken on their behalf.

The integrity demonstrated during the nomination and election process reflects the spiritual maturity required of episcopal leaders. Nominees are therefore expected to participate in this season with transparency, accountability, and faithfulness to the mission of the Church (2 Corinthians 8:21).

Should concerns arise regarding adherence to these expectations, they may be brought to the Global Episcopacy Committee for prayerful review.

The Committee offers these expectations as an expression of our shared commitment to holiness, unity, and faithful leadership in the Global Methodist Church. We pray for all nominees, that they might model the highest ideals of leadership in the Global Methodist Church.

Connectional Council Announces Election of General Conference Administrative Committees

March 26, 2026

There are five administrative committees that shepherd the work of the General Conference, where delegates have a say in how the conference functions. These are: Agenda (in what order will the business of the conference be dealt with), Credentials (who is credentialed as a delegate), Journal (approves the accuracy of the minutes of the conference and advises the secretary on compiling the new Book of Doctrines and Discipline ), Nominations (who is recommended to be elected to the general church commissions, councils, and committees), and Reference (what petitions are valid and what legislative committee should deal with each petition). These committees are made up of General Conference delegates nominated by their delegation, recommended by the General Conference Commission, and elected by the Connectional Council. The members elected by the Connectional Council are based on the following principles: · People who are well qualified to do the work · Representation from as many annual conferences as possible from the global church · Each committee being half clergy and half lay · Striving for gender balance The Book of Doctrines and Discipline requires that members of the administrative committees shall have also been delegates to the preceding General Conference in Costa Rica. This requirement prevented most of the European, Filipino, or Latin American annual conferences from nominating anyone for these committees because their current delegates were not delegates in 2024. Therefore, the committees are roughly half-African and half-U.S. in voting membership. (Legislation has been submitted to eliminate this requirement for future General Conferences.) Due to this requirement, conferences that were not part of the Global Methodist Church in 2024 would also be excluded. The Connectional Council voted to add two non-voting members to each committee except the Agenda Committee to provide representation from those conferences joining since 2024. The Connectional Council also voted to add a non-voting advisory team to assist the Nominations Committee in their work. The advisory team will consist of two GMC staff persons, two bishops, and two conference superintendents. The goal is to have more people in the room who know the nominees and can give guidance in forming the slate of recommended general church commission members. We received nominations from 18 of the 30 annual conferences present in Costa Rica. Some of the 12 who did not submit nominations were precluded by the above requirement. Others chose not to submit nominations. Of the 18 conferences that submitted nominations, 17 have members elected to a committee. We also received nominations from 9 of the 17 annual conferences not in Costa Rica. Eight of them have a non-voting member on one of the committees. In addition, 40 percent of the voting members are women. The Reference and Nominations Committees will begin working immediately, as most of their responsibilities are carried out well before the General Conference meets. The Agenda, Credentials, and Journal Committees will begin meeting in May, with the Journal Committee’s responsibilities continuing for several months after the General Conference adjourns in September. Please keep these committee members in prayer as they seek to facilitate the work of the General Conference.

Global Methodist Church Announces Preliminary List of Episcopal Nominees for General Conference 2026

March 26, 2026

As of March 15, 2026, 28 individuals have been received as episcopal nominees by the Global Episcopacy Committee (GEC) of the Global Methodist Church. This list reflects nominees submitted by Annual Conference delegations by the preferred deadline. Additional nominees may continue to be submitted by Annual Conferences through May 15, 2026. In the spirit of transparency and to support the work of delegations, the Global Methodist Church is releasing this preliminary list to allow delegations to begin their work of prayerful discernment in advance of the Area Committees on Episcopacy (AEC) assignment plenary session scheduled for May 31, 2026. As previously announced, eight full-time bishops will be elected and consecrated at General Conference 2026, taking place August 30 through September 6, 2026, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Those elected will serve six-year terms beginning November 5, 2026. Global Methodist bishops are traveling, apostolic leaders set apart for a ministry of visionary servant leadership, general oversight, and supervision in support of the church’s mission. They lead the temporal and spiritual life of the church, defend the faith, and deploy the clergy. According to the Book of Doctrines and Discipline , “Nominees for the episcopacy should have a strong record of effectiveness in leading the church in evangelism, discipleship, and mission.” We offer this information with gratitude for those who have said yes to being considered and with prayerful anticipation for how the Lord will guide the Church through this discernment. Preliminary List of Episcopal Nominees Six of the current active bishops have offered themselves for re-election: Bishop Leah Gregory Bishop Eduard Khegay Bishop Kimba K. Evariste Bishop Carolyn Moore Bishop John Pena Auta Bishop Mark Webb In addition to those continuing in consideration, the following nominees have been put forward by Annual Conference delegations from across the connection to date:

Update on the Plenary Gathering of Area Committees on Episcopacy

December 11, 2025

Read in French | Read in Korean | Read in Portuguese | Read in Spanish | Read in Swahili December 08, 2025 Dear General Conference Delegations, As chair of the Global Episcopacy Committee (GEC), I am pleased to formally call the 2026 plenary gathering of those selected by their delegations to serve on our future Area Committees on Episcopacy. The purpose of this gathering will be to approve the composition of our 2026–2032 episcopal areas, as directed by BDD ¶604.3. The plenary gathering will be held online on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). The lay member and clergy member you select will meet with their counterparts from other GMC conferences around the world to consider a report from the GEC on the groupings of annual conferences that will share a bishop. Your GEC and the Assembly of Bishops will participate in the plenary gathering with voice but without vote. The exact number of episcopal areas will be announced in early 2026. The GEC’s proposal for the episcopal areas will be based on the data submitted by each delegation. It is our intention to publish our recommendations and rationale prior to the plenary gathering. Approval will require a simple majority vote. Once the map of episcopal areas is approved on May 30, each area committee will enter a virtual breakout room. Members of the GEC will facilitate the election of officers. Each area committee will then begin its work: identifying leadership needs and deciding which episcopal nominees to interview. A full profile of each nominee—including current bishops who are making themselves available for re-election—will be provided. Area Committees will also have access to confidential files made available by the GEC. Each area committee is asked to produce a ranked list of its top five choices by July 22, 2026 . These lists will be shared with the delegates of the General Conference. Nominees who appear on a ranked list may be invited to participate in video interviews. Once gathered in Johannesburg, delegates will elect a bishop to each specific episcopal area. Because this process will repeat every six years, there will be future opportunities to reconsider both the shape of episcopal areas and those who serve them. As you can see, the task entrusted to the Area Committees on Episcopacy is significant. A draft document further defining the responsibilities of these committees is available on the election page of The Beauty of Holiness website . Please keep in mind the following guidelines: A person nominated to be bishop is not eligible to serve on an area committee on episcopacy. While the persons you select must be members of your annual conference, they do not have to be members of your delegation. Please select persons who have reliable internet access and experience with online meetings. This is essential for both the plenary gathering and the candidate interviews. Translation services are being secured for the plenary gathering. However, the ability to communicate across languages will be helpful throughout the process. Those who do not speak the language used by their area committee may need to secure a personal translator or translation service. Those elected to your area committee should be prepared to participate in hours of interviews in June and July of 2026. The time commitment will be significant. Delegations are reminded to submit the following items by March 15, 2026: The names of one lay person and one clergy person selected to serve on your future area committee on episcopacy (please include their e-mail address, clergy/laity status, and languages they speak); A ranked list of ten annual conferences with whom your delegation believes it should be grouped in a shared episcopal area (rationale statements are welcome); Up to one episcopal nominee from your annual conference and up to one episcopal nominee from outside your conference. Thank you for your faithful work in building the Global Methodist Church and spreading scriptural holiness across the globe. Please join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will guide and bless the selection process for our first elected slate of full-time bishops. Grace & Peace, Rev. Dr. Chris Ritter Chairperson Global Episcopacy Committee globalepiscopacycomm@globalmethodist.org