GM Church Welcomes New Chief Financial Officer

By Walter Fenton

The Global Methodist Church has hired Robert Worthington as its new chief financial officer, selecting a layman with extensive experience as a certified public accountant and a practicing attorney. He most recently served as the CFO for Premier Dermatology in Bentonville, Arkansas, managing financial operations for two large dermatology practices with multiple locations and over one hundred employees.

Worthington, 38, will join a small administrative staff charged with implementing the denomination’s mission while remaining a resourceful, creative, and missionally minded movement. Launched on May 1, 2022, the GM Church is composed of 4,670 local churches organized into 36 provisional annual conferences around the world. GM Church delegates will meet in San Jose, Costa Rica, for the denomination’s convening General Conference, September 19-26, 2024.

Born and raised in a secular home in Chile, Worthington came to the United States as an exchange student. With his host family, he began attending Plainview First United Methodist Church in Plainview, Texas (now a GM local church), where he committed his life to Christ.

He remained in the U.S. attending Wayland Baptist University (Plainview), graduating summa cum laude in 2008 with a degree in business administration. Within months of his graduation, he passed all the sections of the challenging CPA exam on his first attempt. While working as a staff accountant, he completed a law degree at Baylor Law School (Waco, Texas), where he graduated magna cum laude. He is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

In addition to working at companies as an accountant, a CFO, a chief operations officer, and an attorney, Worthington also served as an assistant professor of accounting and law at both Wayland Baptist University and Dallas Baptist University. He is a native Spanish speaker and is fluent in English.

“The opportunity to serve the GM Church brings all my skills and interests together,” said Worthington. “I am thrilled to devote myself to the amazing work God is doing in and through our dramatically growing Church!”

GM Church leaders said they received 32 applications for the CFO position, and interviewed five finalists. The Rev. Keith Boyette, the denomination’s transitional connectional officer, and the Rev. Mike Schafer, the denomination’s incoming connectional operations officer, were members of the search team.

“The people who applied for the CFO position did not make our task easy, many of them were stellar candidates,” said Boyette. “However, we were very impressed with Robert’s combination of skills, gifts, and his passion for our mission. As a new denomination, still in its formative years, we have significant challenges ahead of us. I am confident Robert is going to to help us meet and surmount them as we all dedicate ourselves to fulfilling our God given mission.”

Schafer interviewed Worthington’s personal references, and said they confirmed the search team’s impressions. “People described Robert as ‘a man of integrity;’ as ‘highly intelligent, and yet skilled at explaining accounting and legal matters in terms ordinary people can understand;’ and most importantly, as ‘a man who is humble, and loves God with a servant’s heart.’ Needless, to say, I am looking forward to working with him!”

Worthington is based in Bella Vista, Arkansas, and attends Highlands Church, a GM Church congregation in the Trinity Provisional Annual Conference. He enjoys preparing for and leading an online Bible study on Friday nights. And when he’s not working or studying, he loves riding motorcycles and mountain bikes in beautiful Northwest Arkansas.

“I am excited to work for the GMC because I believe in its mission. I think Global Methodists have something important to offer the world—and the time to offer it is now,” said Worthington. “We emphasize both the very real spiritual connection between God and his people and the importance of holiness. Only through an emphasis on both of these motifs can we share a message that is true, deep, and impactful.”

Worthington assumed his duties on August 12, 2024.

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The Rev. Walter Fenton is the Global Methodist Church’s Deputy Connectional Officer.