The Spirit of a New Connection

By Walter Fenton

Since John Wesley and his friends founded the Methodist movement in the middle of the eighteenth century, Methodists, of whatever stripe, have emphasized the importance of connectionalism. As the Rev. Dr. David Watson, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary (Dayton, Ohio), put it, “To be Methodist is to be connectional.”

Wesley’s use of the term was his way of emphasizing what Christians have always believed: living out our faith is done in community. And just as individuals need to be connected, so local churches do as well. We believe connectionalism is rooted in the patterns set forth in the New Testament church.

In our connections, Wesley said, “We are to watch over one another in love.” And love in the Christian context means we are to inspire one another to live faithfully as Christ’s disciples. Love means extending grace to one another as God has extended it to us. Love also means praying for and serving others both inside the connection and beyond it, particularly the hungry, the sick, the defenseless, and even our enemies. And love also means speaking truth to one another as graciously as we can and holding one another accountable to the faith we proclaim.

And the same goes for local churches. They are to encourage one another in the faith, alleviate one another’s burdens, and to join together to serve others. They are also to hold one another accountable to Christianity’s core confessions and those ethical standards derived from Scripture and the teachings of the Church catholic.

Christians have always recognized truly loving others is far easier said than done, and therefore, as individuals and local churches, they would have to be in connection with one another in order to hold each other accountable to such a challenging and high calling. Unfortunately, church history is full of examples of our failure to hold one another accountable in Christian love and so remain in authentic connection.

Wesley was well aware of the many deep disagreements that had divided Christians over the centuries, but that awareness did not diminish his commitment to connectionalism, just the opposite. Divisions demonstrated all the more the necessity of working to repair and strengthen the connection, not to give up on it or acquiesce to a vapid connectionalism with no accountability. He, like many others who went before him, could not conceive of living the Christian life without authentic connection.

As the Global Methodist Church prepares to gather for its convening General Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, it fully embraces the importance of authentic connectionalism. It warmly invites individuals and local churches who long for such a connection to join it. The GM Church believes authentic connectionalism must be marked by a spirit of freedom. It will be strongest when all its people and local churches are freely committed to its core theological confessions, its ethical standards derived from Scripture and the teachings of the church catholic, and when we all watch over one another in love by supporting each other and holding one another accountable to our high calling.

The thousands of people who have worked and prayed for the formation of the GM Church are well aware – some painfully aware – that when a connected church fails to maintain accountability and yet simultaneously seeks to preserve its power, authentic connectionalism is lost, the seeds of division are sown, and internal strife eventually weakens its ability to fulfill its greater mission. Consequently, the Global Methodist local churches must work together to fulfill the great commission in a spirit of freedom and accountability in love.

As our convening General Conference delegates gather in Costa Rica, now is the time for all GM local churches to pray and work together for a new connection empowered by the Holy Spirit. Now is the time for people and local churches to freely give of their time, talent, and resources to build an authentically connected church. A Church that watches over one another love, that extends grace, serves others, proclaims the truth, and holds one another accountable to its great calling.

Readers can learn more about the Global Methodist Church by exploring its general website, they can follow all the details about the convening General Conference by visiting So the World Will Know and can receive exclusive convening General Conference updates by following our Facebook Event page here.

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