Grace and peace, church family.

This past week, I had the privilege of joining pastors and lay leaders from across Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas at the Trinity Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church in College Station. It was a Spirit-filled time of worship, fellowship, prayer and celebration of what God is doing through His church.

One of the great joys of the conference is being reminded that we are part of something larger than ourselves. The Trinity Conference now includes 400 churches, and over the past year, worship attendance grew by 8%, representing nearly 2,800 additional people gathering to worship Jesus each week. Even more encouraging, 2,130 people made professions of faith in Christ across our conference this past year.

We also celebrated the ordination of 26 new clergy, including three from The Woodlands Methodist Church family. Rev. Enrique Sanchez was ordained as a Deacon, and Rev. Aaron Laird and Rev. Mark Swayze were ordained as Elders. It was a joy to worship alongside them and celebrate God’s calling in their lives and ministries.

The conference also commissioned its first long-term missionary family to Tanzania and adopted a new strategic plan focused on leadership development, discipleship, church planting, and the launch of 15 new worship communities over the next three years.

I will add that I was especially encouraged to hear that The Woodlands Methodist Church’s Planters Field program was highlighted as a training resource for church planters across the denomination. What God is doing here is helping us equip leaders and strengthen churches far beyond our own community.

Friends, in a world that often highlights what is broken, it is good to remember that God is still moving. Lives are being changed. Churches are growing. And the Gospel is advancing.

To God be the glory.

— Mark