Commission on the General Conference
The United Methodist Church
For Immediate Release
November 12, 2025
Commission on the General Conference Announces Theme for the 2028 General Conference
Minneapolis, MN – The Commission on the General Conference gathered November 10-12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they continued their work in preparing for the 2028 event.
After vetting various concepts from United Methodist Communications, the Commission selected and voted on the theme and logo direction for the 2028 General Conference. Love Serve Lead: Empowered by the Holy Spirit builds off The United Methodist Church's new guiding vision statement message. The theme encourages everyone participating in the 2028 General Conference to live into this vision as they go about the work of holy conferencing. The official logo will be available later this month.
As previously reported, the process was presented, and the Commission on the General Conference voted to set the delegate count for the 2028 meeting at 708. Preplanning was also done with the affirmation of the 2025-2028 budget and its submission to the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA). A new portal that is being built to facilitate elected delegate reporting was also previewed.
During the meeting, the Alternative Task Team - that was formed in May to explore alternative options to convene the 2028 General Conference session - reported their initial findings and offered recommendations. The Commission voted to continue the work of the task team, to pursue their recommendations, and allow the subcommittees to explore what that may look like for their areas of purview.
“We’ve estimated that fewer than 20% of the delegates could be impacted, which creates the opportunity for us to explore the equity of access for all should the need arise,” stated the Secretary of the General Conference, the Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright.
“We are looking forward to having everyone gather in Minneapolis. Every effort is being taken to ensure that delegates living outside of the United States can be present at the meeting,” shared Commission Chair, the Rev. Andy Call. “However, out of an abundance of care, we want to continue to investigate all options should persons be unable to travel due to the denial of visas outside of their control to ensure that all who are elected can participate fully.”
“Despite travel complexities, we had 14 international Commission members who were able to get visas and travel to be with us in-person at our meeting. It was encouraging to see that when guidance provided by the Commission on the securing of visas is followed, the process has a much greater likelihood of success. This gives us confidence in the future and supports the work of the Connectional Relations subcommittee in planning training on this process,” noted Fulbright.
“Though we may be faced with sensitive issues and challenging decisions at times, I think the work we accomplished and the conversations started during our meeting have been the embodiment of our commitment to accuracy, communication, transparency and ensuring justice and care for all,” reflected Call. “God’s hand has been present in the election of each of our Commission members to serve at this time, and though this work is difficult, we can and will complete it.”
The program, rules, connectional relations, and futuring committees met to further their work on behalf of the Commission in preparation for the 2028 meeting. Their update reports touched on varying issues from the importance of training for delegates, hospitality and schedule concerns, travel processes, engaging youth and young adults, considering revisions to future processes and clarification of rules to meet today’s Church’s needs, technology, financial stewardship, efficiencies, and the possibility of a leaner, shorter, and smaller General Conference that is still productive and impactful.
“Though we can’t plan for every unknown, I want to assure everyone that the Commission is taking measures to ensure a safe and equitable experience for all who attend the 2028 General Conference,” noted Fulbright. “We are dedicated to offering physical security, emotional safety, spiritual support, and hospitality that allows all to feel welcome, part of the Connection, and empowered to do the tasks set before them.”
The executive committee and subcommittees will continue to meet and plan until they gather again for the next full meeting of the Commission on the General Conference to be held online in April 2026.
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About General Conference
General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, which meets once every four years. The conference can revise church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs.
About The United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a worldwide connection of close to 10 million members in over 100 countries, with a presence in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. United Methodists are people of God who share a common mission and values. The church and its members are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We reach out to a hurting world through a dedicated focus on mission and ministry. Our tagline “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” reflects who we are and how we seek to put our faith into action. Learn more at umc.org.
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