Several times during the Fifth International Conference of The Wesleyan Church, I rejoiced in being surrounded and lifted by the exuberant worship of nearly 400 Wesleyans praising God in their native languages. It was a tiny, wonderful glimpse of heaven.
The International Conference, which exists to promote worldwide holiness evangelism in keeping with the mission of The Wesleyan Church, was held January 10-12 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with 50 of the 108 countries represented by nearly 400 persons. While we celebrated the countries represented, we also paused to recognize the countries unable to send delegates including Cambodia, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Poland, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Mexico, Suriname, several Ibero-America countries, and several countries and regions which cannot be listed due to security concerns.
Delegates of the 2025 ICWC
The conference theme was Everywhere to Everywhere: Reaching the Unreached TOGETHER! The conference goal was to strengthen our connection as a global Wesleyan Church and our commitment to collaborate with greater understanding and skill to reach the unreached together. More than 60 individuals from 30 different countries served as rally and workshop speakers and facilitators. A fully international team planned the conference led by co-coordinators Rev. Doctor Galela and Rev. Nikki Nettleton.
The three days spent together included early morning prayer, worship rallies, two business sessions, afternoon workshops covering a wide variety of topics, table fellowship and tea breaks.
Rally topics were:
- Day One: The WHY and WHAT of Reaching the Unreached Together
- Day Two: HOW do we Reach the Unreached Together?
- Day Three: NOW is the time to reach the unreached together!
I was especially grateful that 19 of our 22 North American General Conference district superintendents, all our General Officers and three of our college presidents attended, many accompanied by their spouses. Their presence was tangible evidence of our support for the global Wesleyan Church mission and an opportunity for our General Conference to be influenced by the momentum and ideas learned from our global sisters and brothers. Additionally, 20 delegates and several Global Partners team members from Headquarters and various global fields were present forming a North American representative group of more than 100.
Intermingled in the conference schedule were two business sessions. Elected delegates from every conference (General, established National/Regional) and mission units functioning under a General Conference missions department were present. Officers of the International Conference, including members of the International Board of General Superintendents, presided over the business sessions.
A moment of silence was observed as names of many important Wesleyan Church leaders who have passed away since the May 2019 ICWC were shown.
Seven resolutions were included in the business meeting agenda. Meeting minutes documenting business actions are pending final review by the International Board of The Wesleyan Church.
- Haiti to become an established National Conference.
- A call for the consideration of the issue of reparations.
- International Board to conduct a missional review of the Global Wesleyan Church.
- Formalization of “We Speak with One Voice” committees and process.
- Establishment of Global Wesleyan honors and awards.
- Amendment of the Charter of The International Wesleyan Church paragraph 6765 addressing 12-month appraisal prior to each General Conference.
- Amendment of the Charter of The International Wesleyan Church paragraph 6765 addressing use of the word, “aggregate.”
ICWC Treasurer Dennis Jackson, Global Partners Executive Director, shared the ICWC Growth Measurements Report.
After honoring outgoing members of the International Board, members were elected for the next quadrennium. Outgoing Secretary Thabsile Thwala completed her board term and Chair Joel Cumberbatch completed his service as board and conference chair at the rise of the International Conference. Cumberbatch remains on the board.
The following newly elected International Board was installed:
- Dr. Lex Akers, National Superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia and President of the South Pacific Established Regional Conference
- Chair: Rev. Amos Anteg, General Superintendent, Philippines General Conference
- Dr. Joel Cumberbatch, General Superintendent, Caribbean General Conference
- Dr. Stephen Elliott, National Superintendent, Canada Established National Conference
- Secretary: Rev. Doctor Galela, Southern African Regional Superintendent
- Treasurer: Dr. Dennis Jackson, Global Partners
- Mdm. Seema Justin, Asia-Pacific Representative
- Mdm. Naila, Unreached Areas Representative
- Rev. Hector Perez, Regional Superintendent, Ibero-America Established Regional Conference
- Rev. Errold Pierre, National Superintendent, Haiti (projected Haiti Established National Conference Representative 2026)
- Rev. Charles Saywon, Liberia National Superintendent, Africa Representative
- Vice-Chair: Dr. Wayne Schmidt, General Superintendent, North America General Conference
I believe that every global entity benefits from knowing each other’s collective experiences and being strengthened from each other’s persistent prayer and encouragement. I pray for our North American General Conference that our posture will be one of humility and gratitude as we continue to partner with our global Wesleyan brothers and sisters in fulfilling our shared mission.
Dr. Wayne Schmidt is the General Superintendent of the North American Conference of The Wesleyan Church.
