Preaching on the conference theme of “Illumine: Be the Light,” the Rev. Amanda Ross, annual conference session chair, said, “We are inviting everyone to practice being ‘the light of the world’ reaching out in love so that others can experience God’s unconditional love and grace. I know many of us wrestle with how to ground our beliefs firmly in Scripture. My hope is that, by the end of this weekend — especially after our Sunday morning teaching time — you’ll leave more confident in a Wesleyan approach to interpreting the Bible.”
Missouri Bishop Robert Farr was the officiating bishop. Retired Bishop Robert Schnase, who served the Missouri Conference from 2004 to 2016, was also in attendance.
This year, 22 churches were closed: Evangelical Brookfield, Wesley Sweet Springs, Grant City, Park, Lathrop, Grandview, South Park, Aldersgate, Herculaneum, Willow Springs, Eminence, Ellington, Cooter, First Portageville, Grace Rockview, Esther, Dixon, Scopus, Diamond, St. Luke’s Conway, Onward and Elwood.
There are 14 churches in some stage of being a new church start. Those churches are:
- Resurrection in Springfield, the Rev. Mike Randle
- Compass in Cape Girardeau, the Rev. Jennifer Long
- 80-20 in O’Fallon, the Rev. Amie Martin
- Huffman in Español in St. Joseph, the Rev. Manuel San Martin
- Riverside United Methodist, Kansas City, the Rev. Jess Horsely
- Grace in Webb City, the Rev. Kevin McNeely
- Resurrection Lee’s Summit, the Rev. Robert Johnson
- Resurrection Liberty, the Rev. Shannon Starek
- Resurrection Brookside, the Rev. Wendy Chrostek
- Christ in Espanol in Independence, the Rev Kari Tames
- New Day and Bernie United Methodist, the Revs. Fred Leist and Susan Marner-Sides
- The Well, St. Louis, the Rev. Danny Lybarger
- Transformation United Methodist, the Rev. Harold Long
- New site, Neosho United Methodist, the Rev. Trey Laveroni
There were nine people ordained and nine people commissioned, with an average age of 39. This year, 21 clergy retired.
Membership stands at 102,258, down from 106,402 in 2023.
Average worship attendance stands at 37,535, down from 38,485 in 2023.
Church school attendance stands at 9,911, down from 10,671 in 2023.
Professions or reaffirmations of faith for 2024 was 1,414, up from 1,121 in 2023.
Adults and young adults in small groups for 2024 was 22,677, up from 21,775 in 2023.
Worshippers engaged in mission for 2024 was 23,792, up from 23,448 in 2023.
— Fred Koenig, editor, Missouri Conference