New and returning directors prepare for service

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry are meeting together this week for a joint gathering of newly elected board members for both agencies. About a third of each agency’s directors are returning to serve an additional board term, despite the extra four years they served in the previous term because of the COVID-19 pandemic and delay of the 2020 General Conference. The benefit of their experience will aid the transition for new board members.

Global Ministries Board of Directors currently consists of 39 members who serve both Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee of Relief (UMCOR). To foster interagency connections, four members who have just finished terms as Higher Education and Ministry directors were welcomed to the Global Ministries’ board. Likewise, two directors who finished terms with Global Ministries will serve as directors with Higher Education and Ministry. Two directors from African central conferences will join once the central conferences have met and elected agency directors in 2025.

Committee structures have been modified as the agencies lean into their joint meeting structure. Global Ministries will have two major program committees, UMCOR and Mission Programs. Several committees will meet jointly for the two agencies: Administrative Matters (which includes financial matters), the Executive /Personnel committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Institutional Racism (CEIR/WIDEA). Another change is that directors will now each serve on one committee rather than two.

The full board of directors accepted the nominations committee report and elected the Global Ministries and UMCOR officers. The full board member list is included below. Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson will serve as president for Global Ministries, and Bishop David Wilson will serve as president of UMCOR. Newly elected bishops serving with Global Ministries include Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, Greater Northwest Episcopal Area, and Bishop Israel Maestrado Painit, of the Davao Episcopal Area, Philippines, who was a Global Ministries’ missionary at the time of this election as bishop. Painit joins the UMCOR Board of Directors. Bishop David Wilson, Great Plains area, served on the board previously as a representative of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, Virginia Conference, and Bishop Joaquina Nhanala from Mozambique are returning directors who served in the previous quadrennium.

General Secretary Roland Fernandes welcomed new and returning directors and said he looked forward to exploring the wealth of ideas and perspectives they bring to Global Ministries. “I welcome this fresh quadrennium and connecting with the board members as they build relationships with one another and with staff, missionaries and our partners who help us extend God’s mission in the world. I appreciate the enthusiasm they bring to the task, and I’m thankful for the possibilities we have to create something new to fulfill what God calls us to do.”

Global Ministries and UMCOR Board Member Listing

Global Ministries
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, President
Bishop Joaquina Nhanala, Vice President
Molly McEntire, Corporate Secretary
Charlie Moore, Treasurer

UMCOR, including Global Health
Bishop David Wilson, Chair
Rev. Katie Dawson, Vice Chair
Rev. Marian Royston, Secretary

Mission Programs Committee
Dr. Elizabeth Corrie, Chair
Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, Vice Chair

Global Ministries directors, 2025-2028