Dear Gateway Family,

I am writing to formally announce my resignation from my position as Superintendent of the Gateway Conference of the Free Methodist Church, effective February 28, 2025.

It has been an incredible honor to serve this vibrant community in this position for the past eleven years. During this time, we have seen remarkable growth and transformation, and I want to take a moment to celebrate and acknowledge these achievements we accomplished together:

Expansion of Church Network: Our conference has grown from 25 churches to 37 member and affiliate churches. This expansion occurred despite closing 6 churches and reflects our collective dedication to spreading our mission and faith.

Financial Resourcing: We have successfully secured and managed financial resources that have supported our churches and pastors through the Gateway Grant program and the Gateway Pastors and Child Scholarship program. This support has been crucial in enabling our community to thrive and reach

its full potential. Churches that may have been closed previously are alive and ministering to their communities yet today!

Worship Attendance: We have witnessed a significant increase in Sunday worship attendance, growing from a low of 2,300 to over 3,000. This increase is a testament to the vibrant and engaging worship experiences provided by our churches, the quality of the pastors we have recruited and appointed, the

resourcing we have made available and the ongoing leadership training we provide.

Multicultural Growth: Our commitment to diversity and inclusion has led to the growth of our multicultural churches, from 2 to now 10. And we now have the largest group of women clergy at anytime in the history of our conference. This expansion highlights our BOA and MEGA boards dedication to embracing and celebrating the rich tapestry of cultures within our faith community.

Restoration of Financial Stability: We will soon successfully restore our financial reserves to levels greater than those seen in 2014. This has been accomplished by seeking to infuse financial support to growth areas of our conference while also managing our properties well. This achievement provides a

strong foundation for the continued growth and sustainability of our future.

I am deeply grateful for the support, collaboration, and shared vision of the leaders in this conference that have made these accomplishments possible. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated and passionate individuals. We have produced work that has pleased God.

As I transition from this role, I remain committed to ensuring a smooth handover and will do everything in my power to assist in creating a interim solution for the last year of the Conference Superintendent term. I am confident that the Free Methodist Church in the Southern Illinois and Missouri region will continue

to flourish and achieve even greater heights in the years to come.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve and for the many experiences, blessings and friendships I have gained along the way.

With heartfelt gratitude and prayers,

Benjamin Tolly, Superintendent

Calling the church to fasting and prayer is a vow every Free Methodist elder takes at their ordination. We, your bishops, are calling all to a month of fasting and prayer that will begin on Tuesday, September 3. Here's all the information you need to know to connect with this united effort:

OUR THEME AND FOCUS 

"Seeking Together" is our theme as we unite in seeking the face of God around four weekly themes: Turning to God/Repentance, Awaken Your Church, The Next Generation, and Leaders in the Church/Society. We highly encourage the participation of as many Free Methodists as possible to give your voice to prayer and join the chorus as we seek God together.

HOW IT WILL BE COMMUNICATED

Each day a video with Scripture, a devotional thought, and prayer will be presented from our Superintendents and other FM leaders. Included with their prayer will be prayer prompts for you to use to engage your own voice in added prayer. As you watch the video and pray, you will be joining others in our family who will be doing the same.

HOW YOU CAN RECEIVE THE DAILY VIDEOS AND PRAYER PROMPTS

1. Here are the ways you can be sure to receive all the daily videos and prayer prompts:1. Receive it by email in your inbox. To do so, subscribe to the email list. Here's the link to use to subscribe: fmchr.ch/seekingtogether 
2. Visit our FMCUSA Facebook page daily for the prayer videos and prompts. Here's the link so you can be sure to like and follow that page: https://www.facebook.com/fmcusa
3. Visit our National Prayer Ministry Facebook page daily for the videos and prompts. Here's the link so you can be sure to like and follow that page: https://www.facebook.com/npmfmc
4. Visit the web page each day that is set up specifically to house all the videos and prayer prompts. Here's the link: https://fmcusa.org/seekingtogether

Here you can download a couple of graphics that you can use to promote this effort to your churches, encouraging our members and attendees to add their voice to this chorus of prayer and join us in fasting for the church. You can view and download the accompanying Fasting Guide here. Please share this information and links with them as well.

Questions? Email info@fmcusa.org and our communications team will do their best to provide you with answers.

May the Lord hear us as we storm the throne of grace with our requests for the Lord to visit us and ignite a Spirit-fueled movement "by calling on the God in whom we believe - the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not" (Romans 4:17).

We also pray that every local Free Methodist Church would be a House of Prayer for the Nations. Thanks for your participation.

Blessings to you,

Keith Cowart, Kaye Kolde, Kenny Martin

The Board of Bishops of the FMCUSA

Have you visited our website recently? Our website is a resource library for pastors and churches with many forms, handbooks and information you will find helpful:

Gateway Conference | Forms and Resources (gatewayfmcusa.org)

Local Church Resources Available from The Center for Pastoral Transformation

The discernment process for credentialing in the Free Methodist Church begins in the local church context.

The FMCUSA Book of Discipline paragraph 6500 outlines the process for a Local Ministerial Candidate (LMC) to have opportunity to explore a perceived call in the context of the local church with a local mentor pastor. Persons who discern a call to the diaconate should pursue the Consecrated Deacon Candidate path at the completion of the LMC process. The Consecrated Deacon process is outlined in paragraph 6600 of the Book of Discipline. The local mentor pastor and local Board of Administration guide prospective deacons in the process of study and mentoring appropriate to their area of ministry and according to denominational standards.

Along with more detailed information for local churches and pastors on mentoring Ordination candidates, The Center for Pastoral Formation also has several printable and shareable documents available:

• LMC Brochure
• LMC Path basic outline (NOTE: some conferences have additional custom steps)
• Esquema básico del CML
• LMC Certificate (fillable PDF)
• Certificado de CML (en español/ Spanish LMC Certificate)
• Consecrated Deacon Brochure
• Consecrated Deacon Candidate Path basic outline
• Esquema básico del Diacono Consegrado
• Consecrated Deacon Certificate (fillable PDF)
• Certificado de Diácono Consagrado (en español/ Spanish Deacon Certificate)

These documents along with further information are available on our website:

Gateway Conference | Path to Ordination Resources (gatewayfmcusa.org)

The Center for Pastoral Transformation website:

Center for Pastoral Formation FMCUSA | The leadership development center of the Free Methodist Church USA

Local Church Initiative Grant Letter of Intent Due September 1, 2024

To further the goals of the Free Methodist Church USA and Gateway Conference, you are invited to submit a proposal that advances the opportunity for local churches to begin new initiatives that support these goals. Specifically, the Conference desires to support initiatives that engage the local church in the life and lives of the community in which they serve.

Click here for more information

All Pastors are requested by the Board of Bishops to share this Pastoral Letter on Homosexuality with their Church Leaders and Delegates.

This letter was sent previously in this newsletter and by the FMCUSA.



If you have not done so yet, please share this letter with them.

Click here to read the letter