2018 Florida Annual Conference

June 7-9, Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida

Officiating bishop: Bishop Ken Carter

Guest speakers and memorable points or quotes by speakers:

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, who was the preacher and celebrant for Thursday evening's communion service. Paul Chilcote, professor of theology at the Dunnam Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, spoke Friday morning. He is an author of many books that underscore the need to remember who we are: "John & Charles Wesley, Making Disciples in a World Parish," "Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit," "Early Methodist Spirituality and Recapturing the Wesleys' Vision." Bishop Gregory Palmer of the West Ohio Conference was the Friday evening speaker. He is a "child of the church," son of the Rev. and Mrs. Herbert and Charlotte Sue Hewitt Palmer. He served as the president of the Council of Bishops from 2008-10. The Rev. Geraldine McClellan, senior pastor at Mt. Pleasant, Gainesville, preached at the service of remembrance, and Bishop Ken Carter delivered the sermon for Saturday's ordination service.

Pre-Conference Workshops

Pre-conference workshops were held June 6, at First United Methodist Church Lakeland. They included presentations on Board of Ordained Ministry preparation, the ZOE project (how to design a mission with sustainable results), stewardship and faith (Spanish and English), lay members for the Now in Church, first time local pastor session, Our Kids ministry training, disaster response, Fresh Expressions/church vitality and justice conversations about hearing the female story and racial reconciliation.

Main actions enacted by the conference: Re-voted on the constitutional amendment; adopted a new vision, On Mission Together; approved a budget for 2019 that is 1.16 percent less than 2018; chartered three new churches.

Resolutions adopted by the conference : N/A

Number of people ordained, commissioned or received into associate membership, and average age: 39

Number of people retired: 33

Membership stands at 228700, down 4.3 percent from the previous year.

Worship attendance stayed flat.

Church school attendance stands at 35,533, up 11 percent.

Professions or reaffirmations of faith for 2017 5604, down from 2016, four percent.

Adults and young adults in small groups for 2017 70,003, down from 2016, two percent.

Worshippers engaged in mission for 2017 69,613, up from 2016, eight percent.

What did your annual conference do to reinforce the Four Areas of Focus, and what commitments has the conference made for the coming year:

The bishop's offering will support:

ZOE Ministries

According to global research, 385 million children are living in extreme poverty throughout the world. The debilitating results are disease, hunger, exploitation, abuse, illiteracy, and hopelessness. ZOE's approach has proven that children living in poverty also hold the greatest capacity to create lasting solutions for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Training Laity and Clergy

Churches across the conference engage with their communities in new and exciting forms of evangelism. The conference is committed to training our laity and clergy in creative and contextual ways of reaching out in order to create sustaining, vital churches in the future and in reaching new people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Continue a major commitment to Hurricane Irma disaster recovery for the survivors of the September 2017 storm.

Continue to grow the number of school-church partnerships throughout the conference.

Continue to grow the number of viable Fresh Expressions across the conference.

--Gretchen Hastings, director, connectional relations, Florida Conference