NAIROBI – From April 8-10, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya, 112 board members, staff, and missionaries – including eight bishops from diverse regions – converged for a three-day meeting of the boards of directors for Global Ministries (GBGM), UMCOR, and Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM).
Fernandes opened the meeting by reminding participants of the sacredness to be called into the work of mission and ministry at this time. Using “Blessed Are the Peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9) as the meeting theme, he lamented the global distress caused by war, conflict, and policies initiated by the current U.S. administration that are causing widespread suffering, particularly among the world’s most vulnerable people.
Fernandes reported on the results of This Moment Matters, a special granting and fundraising initiative launched in early 2025 to provide funding in five areas of urgent need: agriculture and food security, education, health, migration, and peace. To date, the agencies have made more than $23.8 million in grants in these five areas.
Fernandes also reflected on the significance of the gathering in Kenya, which is part of the East Africa Episcopal Area. Global Ministries’ work in the region had been suspended for more than a dozen years and working closely with East Africa leadership, Global Ministries and the Episcopal Area restored their relationship in early 2023, culminating in holding the most recent board meeting in Nairobi.
“This meeting is the first of its kind in East Africa in Kenya,” Fernandes said. “We restored the relationship three years ago and we will continue to work with the East Africa Episcopal Area very closely.” He thanked Bishop Daniel Wandabula, resident bishop of the East Africa Episcopal Area and Bishop John Maromba, presiding bishop of the Methodist Church in Kenya, for their support of the meeting, as well as for their warm welcome and hospitality.
Bishop Wandabula described the meeting as a deeply encouraging and spirit-filled gathering. “While the preparations were extensive, they were made significantly smoother by the strong spirit of partnership and shared purpose. We were not simply organizing a meeting – we were creating space for discernment, mission, and encounter,” he said.
On April 8, the first day of the meeting, participants attended a commissioning service for 17 new Global Missionaries at Lavington United Church in Nairobi. The missionaries will serve in 15 different countries, from Central Asia to Central America, in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The overlap of their training with the board meeting offered opportunity for worship and conversation with board members.
Key initiatives for GBHEM that were voted on and approved by the board include:
- A one-time $4 million distribution from agency reserves to support 11 UM-related Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the U.S.,
- The establishment of a $4 million Regional Conference Higher Education Fund to strengthen Methodist higher education in regional conferences. Each of the church’s 20 episcopal areas in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines will be invited to apply for up to $50,000 per year;
- A Clinical Pastoral Education grant of $538,310 to establish the first accredited international CPE program at Mary Johnston Hospital in the Philippines, in partnership with Methodist Theological School of Ohio;
- A $300,000 Reflective Supervision Grant; and
- Revisions to the Ministerial Education Fund formula promoting equity, diversity, and efficiency.
The UMCOR/Global Health committee reported on a range of recent grant approvals, including $820,000 in humanitarian support for partners working in Gaza, Lebanon, and western Afghanistan, as well as assistance for Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti, among others. Recent U.S. grants issued included a $500,000 grant to Feeding America to address U.S. food insecurity and continued support for the California-Pacific Conference’s fire recovery work in Altadena.
The Yambasu Agricultural Initiative (YAI), now in its fifth year, is piloting collaborative programs with the Global Health unit to address poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition and related health complications. Additional Global Health work includes support for health systems infrastructure initiatives.
Beyond the formal business sessions, participants visited partner sites in Nairobi and Naivasha, about three hours away. Visits included a tour of Kenya Methodist University, trips to Parkview United Methodist Church and Bethel United Methodist Church, a tour of Mount Zion Health Center, which included a ribbon-cutting of the health center’s new borehole well, and a Yambasu Agricultural Initiative project. These visits grounded discussions in lived realities and demonstrated the tangible impact of mission and education.
Jean-Paul Dietrich, board member of Global Ministries and former missionary, appreciated that committee reports were limited to half a day to allow for more site visits. “This gave the directors and staff the opportunity to visit local UMC institutions in Nairobi,” he said. “I was personally very impressed to visit a successful Yambasu Agriculture Initiative project at Mount Longonot.”
Throughout the meeting, a spirit of unity and open dialogue prevailed. Bishop Wandabula emphasized that the gathering was marked by renewed trust. “We were honored to host and to contribute to this important global conversation. There was a clear sense of renewed alignment, strengthened relationships, and forward momentum in our shared mission,” he said.
Roland Fernandes thanked the board members for their commitment and support for the church and its work, posing a lingering question: “how can we be peacemakers in a hurting world?” He shared his hope that their shared work “offers glimpses of hope to ease some of the brokenness and hurt in this world.”
In her closing sermon to the boards, delivered at Trinity United Methodist Church in Nairobi, Bishop Joaquina Nahanala returned to the meeting’s theme saying, “God gives you a peace that the world can’t give you…let us live with courage. Let us embrace the love he shows us. Let us spread that love.”
The meeting in Nairobi was more than an administrative gathering. It was a celebration of mission and ministry, a reaffirmation of partnership, and a commissioning of new workers into God’s vineyard. With leaders and missionaries from across the globe, the event embodied the essence of The United Methodist Church’s mission: to be locally rooted yet globally connected, to serve communities in tangible ways, and to carry forward a spirit of unity and renewal.
Kudzai Chingwe is a communicator for The United Methodist Church’s Zimbabwe East Conference. Susan Clark is the chief communications officer for Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry.
