By Loretta Fulton

If all goes as planned, United Methodists in the Northwest Texas Annual Conference, which includes Abilene, will become part of a new unified conference that will reflect changes in membership following the departure of many conservative congregations for the new Global Methodist Church.

The majority of former United Methodist Churches in Northwest Texas have left for the conservative Global denomination, which launched on May 1, 2022. In Abilene, only St. James and St. Paul remain in the United Methodist fold. The primary reason for establishing the new Global Methodist Church concerned sexuality issues, such as whether to ordain gays and lesbians and whether to perform same-sex marriages. 

The South Central Jurisdiction of the UMC, which covers several states including Texas, will meet at Central United Methodist Church in Rogers, Arkansas, July 10-12. Delegates are expected to approve new conference boundaries at the meeting. If that happens, the Northwest Texas Annual Conference will merge with the Central Texas and North Texas conferences to form the new Horizon Texas Annual Conference. A Unifying Conference for the newly formed conference will be held at the Abilene Convention Center on Saturday, Sept. 28. Other events also are planned over several days in conjunction with the conference.

Bishop Ruben Saenz already is bishop of both the North Texas and Central Texas conferences and is expected to be bishop of the new Horizon Texas Conference, said Jeff Fisher, who formerly was director of transitional ministries for the Northwest Texas Annual Conference, He recently was appointed minister of Grace UMC in Lubbock. 

“If the anticipated plan occurs,” Fisher said, “on January 1 the new conference would officially begin and Bishop Saenz would be the resident bishop of the new (Horizon Texas) conference.”

Lay delegates elected to represent Northwest Texas at the South Central Jurisdiction conference July 10-12 are Randy Stutes, who recently moved out of the NWTX conference, and Lisa Peterson of Trent. Clergy delegates elected are Josh Stueve, St. John’s Lubbock; and Todd Salzwedel, First UMC Lubbock.

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene