UMCom continued to create original articles, resources, explainers, and multimedia content to help members and leaders better understand United Methodist identity, mission, and life together. The agency focused on making leader content more practical and easier to navigate, aligning with real ministry needs while recognizing this as ongoing work. UMCom also partnered with agencies and leadership groups as content strategy advisors, providing editorial guidance, structural support, and distribution recommendations to help denominational messages land more clearly and consistently.

Key efforts included providing clear, accessible content on major denominational moments and initiatives, with particular focus on The UMC vision, regionalization, and the ratification of constitutional amendments. UMCom strengthened its multilingual content infrastructure to reduce language barriers, delivering resources in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, and Kiswahili, and expanded French and Portuguese capacity through regionally based content coordinators. In total, 18 new pieces of content were created in partnership with agencies and leadership bodies in 2025.

On UMC.org, 192 new pieces of content were published, including 41 by Ask the UMC. Engagement increased over 2024, and UMC.org’s engagement rate growth suggested that returning visitors were interacting with content more regularly than last year. The Recap monthly video update received more than 183,000 views across UMC.org, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. The “Get Your Spirit in Shape” podcast celebrated its 200th episode. The UM Now member-focused newsletter ended the year with 98,000+ subscribers.

The UMC reached 812,000+ followers and generated 2,600,000+ engagements on Facebook. On YouTube, The UMC profile saw nearly 739,000 views and 14,000 watch hours; experienced continued growth on Instagram, reaching 79,000+ followers; and saw nearly 1,500 new followers on TikTok, ending with 8,800+ followers. L’Eglise Methodiste Unie, the French Facebook page, also welcomed over 21,000 followers.

Ask The UMC created informative series on the Book of Discipline, Book of Resolutions, regionalization ratification, and the UMC vision, and responded to more than 8,200 member inquiries via email and live chat.

For ResourceUMC.org, 75 new pieces of content were published, including the launch of the United Methodist Church Monthly Ministry Planner, which provided tools, tips, and guidance for local churches to plan ministry activities each month. The planner saw nearly 12,000 sessions and a 74% engagement rate, reflecting strong interaction with leader-focused resources. The Church Committees series garnered 27,145 views while providing guidance on committee roles, functions, and best practices for effective, Spirit-filled service. To address growing concerns among United Methodist leaders in the United States, UMCOM launched a new Immigration and Global Migration page on ResourceUMC and worked with bishops and partner agencies to redesign the Advocacy topic page. In 2025, the site offered 70+ MyCom communications tips pieces, which were also shared via the MyCom newsletter, which reached 28,000 subscribers. The ResourceUMC Facebook page reached 97,000+ followers and generated nearly 380,000 engagements. Its newsletter counterpart, The Source, ended the year with 16,200+ subscribers.

Overall, across UMC.org and ResourceUMC.org, UMCom published a total of 267 new pieces of content in 2025, strengthened multilingual access, increased engagement above 2024 levels, and continued advancing practical, accessible resources for both church members and leaders, ensuring that frequent visitors were interacting with the content more deeply.

Through United Methodist News, UMCom delivered timely, trusted coverage of breaking developments affecting The United Methodist Church and the communities it serves worldwide. UMNews.org also saw growth in engagement, ending the year with more than 2.4 million website sessions. Coverage included 843 stories published across five languages—English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean—reaching a broad global audience through social media and its UM News Digest (with nearly 60,000 subscribers each on both their standard and weekly editions) and the DuruAllimi 1,700+ subscriber newsletter.

Reporting highlighted the church’s response to complex and urgent issues, including the U.S. crackdown on immigration, rising political violence, racism and tribalism, and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, eastern Congo, and other regions where United Methodists are present. UMCom also provided in-depth coverage of the denomination’s operations and financial health and engagement with climate change and disaster relief, global health concerns and regionalization. Stories about mission and ministry in regional conferences across Africa, the Philippines, and Europe resonated strongly, with five of those stories ranking among the Top 15 of the year and generating more than 253,000 page views.

UM News expanded its video content in 2025, with videos collectively garnering 335,000 views—more than 7x the views recorded in 2024. On Facebook, the English language reporting through the UM News Facebook page had nearly 235,000 followers and 1,422,500 engagements; La Iglesia Metodista Unida/Noticias, the Spanish and Portuguese language reporting, had over 28,000 followers and nearly 25,000 engagements; and the Korean Church Facebook page had 48,500 followers and more than 77,000 engagements. UM News also transitioned from X to BlueSky for reporting and ended the year with 600+ followers, while Noticias Metodistas Unidas offered coverage on Instagram and TikTok.

Together, this reporting reflected a commitment to informing, connecting, and equipping United Methodists with clear, contextualized news during a time of significant global and denominational change.

UMCom helped spread the message of The UMC and its ministries through public relations and marketing initiatives, working with news reporters (local, national, and international) across various media to share The UMC’s perspectives and impart information within internal church channels.

The agency secured a series of 9 articles showcasing the vibrancy of The UMC in Africa through a partnership with the Pulitzer Center and The Tennessean. UMCom also assisted Annual Conferences with story pitches related to the Los Angeles fires and Texas flooding, generating coverage from outlets such as NPR and the Associated Press, and helped media contacts with more than 30 additional stories involving the Church.

Internally, UMCom offered trusted guidance to church entities on message handling sensitive issues, conducting over 16 consultation sessions to ensure that The UMC’s narrative was clearly and consistently communicated. These efforts strengthened the Church’s public presence while supporting accurate, thoughtful messaging.

When tensions caused by misinformation rose in Nigeria, resulting in violence and tragedy, UMCom jumped in to help. The agency worked with The UMC Nigeria (UMCN) to share facts, clear up misconceptions, encourage members to remain peaceful and work towards de-escalation. Through this continual partnership, UMCom collectively shifted conversations away from speaking about others to focus on and celebrate The UMCN’s faith in action, including the rollout of a billboard campaign.

UMCom also partnered with The UMC in the Philippines to provide signage to raise awareness of the Church, inspire current members, and invite visitors.

2025 was a time of navigating change and controlling narratives. It was also a time of celebrating what it means to be United Methodist.

UMCom used awareness and engagement campaigns to deepen understanding of how shared generosity fuels ministry across The United Methodist Church.

Through the United in Impact campaign, UMCom helped strengthen local churches by empowering pastors and leaders to teach stewardship, providing practical resources, and connecting giving directly to mission outcomes. Training on the initiative took place during Quad Training events in the U.S. and Africa, and tools for implementing the campaign were made available across the connection. Regional Conference resources—including logos, flyers, reels, and discussion guides—focused on funds and efforts specific to each conference, with materials offered in French, Portuguese, and Kiswahili. U.S. Jurisdictional resources included logos, infographics, talking points, introductory videos, engagement prompts, and a discussion guide.

To support both leaders and general members, UMCom launched a leader-focused landing page at ResourceUMC.org/unitedinimpact and a general member webpage at UMC.org/unitedinimpact, offering inspiration through testimonies, impact stories, and video updates. Overall promotion across websites, newsletters, social platforms, and external sites and apps resulted in 208,000 pageviews on landing pages and 843 downloads of toolkit resources, reflecting strong engagement and a growing understanding of how generosity advances ministry across the global church.

Combined with traditional UMC giving initiatives, UMCom helped to generate more than $43 million in designated giving and over $74 million in apportionments. A 13% increase in the collection rate over the previous year demonstrated that awareness and education efforts help members better understand the impact of their faithful giving on the ministries of The United Methodist Church.

UMCom successfully introduced a new agency partnership model across most general agencies in 2025, establishing consistent content pipelines, reliable communication rhythms, and collaborative strategic planning.

Examples of this partnership in action included shared services such as website, social media, and CRM support for GCSRW, GCAH, and the Connectional Table; expanded data integrations for UMM and GCORR, with additional work underway for GBGM/GBHEM and GBOD; and the rollout of a shared data privacy officer and joint privacy policy across multiple agencies. Efforts also included increasing visibility of partner content on ResourceUMC.org, the site that also served as the official website host for several partners, and regular monthly agency communicator meetings. Production collaboration on denominational projects included 26 videos for GCFA Quad Training, five UMPH Bible studies, and multimedia support for six agencies through webinars, livestreams, and studio recordings.

UMCom strengthened agency collaboration through expanded historical and global storytelling with the General Commission on Archives and History; increased visibility and engagement for Church and Society content; improved infrastructure for Global Ministries and disaster response communications; enhanced higher education and clergy formation communications; and growth in its strategic partnership with Religion and Race. This work also included expanding communications capacity for the Status and Role of Women, improving financial and administrative content coordination, broadening men’s ministry visibility and event support, conducting strategic assessment and planning with United Women in Faith, and deepening strategic alignment with Wespath.

This model strengthened clarity around shared goals and church priorities while providing consistent brand and voice across agency communications, ensuring the church’s message is cohesive and mission focused.

UMCom managed communications partnerships with U.S. annual conferences, the Connectional Table, the Council of Bishops, the Judicial Council, and the Standing Committee while also guiding communications work with ethnic caucuses, including Hispanic/Latino and Asian groups.

United Methodist Communications continued to support connectional ministries through close collaboration with key denominational leaders and bodies. Working alongside the Connectional Table and the Council of Bishops, UMCom played a central role in advancing the denomination’s priorities, including the launch of the new vision, preparations for the 2026 leadership gathering, and strategic communications related to regionalization. The team also provided ongoing production support, meeting coordination, and publicity assistance as needed. ResourceUMC.org served as the official website host for both the Connectional Table and the Commission on the General Conference, further strengthening communication infrastructure. In addition, UMCom supported shared services, including a data privacy officer and a CRM for the Connectional Table. The agency’s staff also oversaw publicity efforts for the Commission on the General Conference and served as a key liaison to ensure alignment and effective communication across the connection.

UMCom maintained annual conference relationships by providing year-round support, including monthly meetings that fostered collaboration and shared learning among communicators, media pitching assistance and guidance, crisis communications training, media list-building support, and ongoing consultation for conferences. Geo-targeted social media ad campaigns were implemented to assist 3 annual conferences impacted by natural disasters, garnering 602,495 impressions, in addition to UM News coverage. During conference season, all annual conferences received downloadable online resources, while 18 requests for physical promotional materials were also honored. UMCom staff were present at 15 annual conference sessions, offering on-site support, leading three workshops on marketing and communications, and presenting two awards. A longtime partnership with the United Methodist Association of Communicators (UMAC) continued with year-round support, sponsorship of the annual meeting, and presentations on topics such as podcasting and the denomination’s vision.

United Methodist Communications worked with Hispanic/Latino communities through intentional partnership and culturally relevant communications. Collaborating with El Plan (Hispanic/Latino Caucus), UMCom developed a comprehensive communications plan and produced content designed to engage first- through fourth-generation Hispanic/Latino members and seekers, with an emphasis on video storytelling to better connect with younger audiences on social media. The agency participated in and covered key events, including MARCHA, ENTRE NOS PHLM, the Missionary Consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Annual Assembly of the United Methodist Mission in Honduras. UMCom also engaged with Korean partners throughout The UMC by convening meetings with caucus presidents to better align communications with their specific needs and priorities, and attendance at the United Still Conference.

At the Regional Conferences, UMCom collaborated with church leaders to align our ministries and implement modern communication solutions that expand the Church's reach through relevant local communication channels. The agency regularly engaged with communicators to build relationships, assessed needs, provided resources to strengthen their efforts, and ensured that accurate information from their areas was available to leaders and members alike.

In 2025, training continued as a priority to equip church leaders. United Methodist Communications signed an agreement with Africa University (Zimbabwe) to offer a communications training certification to a cohort of 40 communicators identified by their bishops, launching in 2026. In West Africa, 20 participants from the Nigeria Episcopal Area (4 Annual Conferences and Senegal and Cameroon Mission Districts) were taught on topics ranging from news reporting to crisis communications. While virtual training/informational meetings for communicators in Africa welcomed, on average, 65 participants per month.

UMCom was involved in events, both as participants and in support roles. This included engagement in the “We Are UMC” event with the West Middle Annual Conference in the Manila Episcopal Area, the UM Broadcast Network’s 10th anniversary celebration, the Tanzania Annual Conference’s “God’s Restoration Painful Heart Healing” training, and the GCFA Quadrennium Training in Mutare, Zimbabwe. UMCom contributed presentations and a crisis communications overview during the Africa College of Bishops meeting in Angola and attended the Germany Central Conference to assist in reporting the episcopal election. The agency provided extensive livestreaming support across all four African Central Conference events and the Philippines Central Conference. UMCom also offered grant funding and coordinated support in the Philippines, equipping more than 50 communicators through comprehensive training sessions for the Manila, Baguio, and Davao Episcopal Areas.

Grants were awarded to four Episcopal Areas across Africa—the Sierra Leone Episcopal Area, Central Congo Episcopal Area, the Liberia Episcopal Area, and the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area—to support regionalization awareness campaigns at the local level.

Internet connectivity was supported for Episcopal Offices across all Central Conferences in Africa and the Philippines, with a transition to Starlink as a provider. Communication equipment — including laptop computers, printers, and office technology — was provided to the North Katanga Episcopal Area (DRC) and the Baguio Episcopal Area (Philippines). A grant supported the Liberia Episcopal Area's Communications and Radio operations, and another grant provided media equipment in the Philippines. The agency offered event livestreaming support in the Burundi Episcopal Area, Johannesburg, Nigeria, and Zambia. UMCom also provided livestreaming kits to all 17 Episcopal Areas served by The United Methodist Broadcast Network in Africa and the Philippines.

Collectively, this work enhanced the Church’s capacity to communicate effectively, build local communications expertise, and foster stronger connections among members and leaders across the Regional Conferences.

UMCom worked to leverage website capabilities to improve the accessibility of available content and to implement tools to increase engagement with website visitors.

The UMC agency sections on ResourceUMC.org were redesigned to allow greater autonomy and visibility while maintaining integration within the broader denominational digital ecosystem. The connectional giving sections on UMC.org and ResourceUMC.org were also redesigned to consolidate resource downloads and improve overall constituent experience when searching for tools to support giving. In addition to redesign work, continued platform stability and performance optimization ensured quality user experiences across all web properties.

UMCom also developed an integrated crossword puzzle platform on UMC.org, which contributed to increased member engagement.

Together, these enhancements reflect UMCom's ongoing commitment to building a more connected, user-centered digital experience—one that not only improves access to essential resources but also fosters deeper engagement, clearer navigation, and stronger connections across the life of The United Methodist Church.

UMCom invested significant time to ensure that the denominational websites are aligned with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This made information on the web pages more accessible to people with disabilities and was inclusive of text, images, sounds, and the coding that presents this content online.

A 'listen to the article' feature that uses AI-generated speech to deliver an audio presentation option for UMC content was launched. This provided additional access to articles while pairing well with the array of podcasts and webinars available on the denominational websites.

Other accessibility efforts implemented included adjustments to fonts, font sizes, and continued use of closed captioning and transcripts. Photographs on the website were optimized for specialized screen readers, allowing captions to be read when hovering over a photo.

This groundwork provides local churches with shareable content they can trust, in line with best accessibility practices.

Though not everything is completely accessible, and technologies and platforms continue to change, UMCom remained committed to aligning with the latest internationally recognized accessibility standards to ensure our digital content is inclusive and usable for all United Methodists.

Efforts were made to strengthen internal systems and workflows to improve efficiency, accuracy, and collaboration across teams.

UMCom continued to improve Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Data Integrity processes. The agency enhanced its Salesforce Sales Cloud system to reduce duplicate records, improve overall data / list accuracy, ensure people receive relevant information, and implement proofing processes for critical communications. This work minimized administrative overhead and freed staff to focus on more mission-critical communications ministry work on behalf of The United Methodist Church.

A Salesforce analytics dashboard built with Tableau was created to better track the performance of communication ministry efforts. The tool provided real-time visibility into organizational performance, enabling data-driven decision-making. The agency also introduced the Asana platform to simplify overall processes and save valuable time. Usage allowed staff to track work and see progress in real time, helping teams and cross-team groups to streamline campaigns and editorial management.