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19 Jul

July 19, 2025 |

While most of the photos you will see and the stories you will hear of this year’s national conference, it is important to note that one of the primary reasons we gather as a denominational body every two years is to do the business of the denomination. This includes hearing reports presented by national directors, discussing and voting on discipline revision proposals, and electing denominational leaders. 

Director Reports

This year we welcomed Dr. Robert Pepper, President of Huntington University, to the stage to report as the Director of Higher Education. This was the first time many of us had met Dr. Pepper, and he was eager to share what he has learned about HU since he moved to town as well as his vision for what is ahead for the university under his leadership. 

You can read Dr. Pepper’s report along with the reports from other national directors here.

Discipline Revision

In 2024, Bishop Todd Fetters assembled a task force, led by Pastor Gary Dilley, to take a fresh look at how the United Brethren Discipline defines “church.” Historically, it had been defined by a certain number of members living within a specified radius of the church building. However, as culture shifts and the church expands, new expressions of the church are coming into existence that are no longer bound by a physical location or membership from a geographical radius. 

This task force spent months examining and scrutinizing, through biblical, theological, and historical reviews, our traditional definition of a local church. They developed a white paper to present to the conference based on their work along with fourteen proposals for discipline revision. All fourteen proposals passed, some with a few minor wording adjustments. 

Election Results

The final important piece of business of the meeting involved electing the Bishop and four members of the Executive Leadership Team. Tim Sherman, chair of the nominating committee, presented the ballots for those positions, and votes were cast. The results were as follows:

Office of Bishop

Todd Fetters was elected to another four-year term.

Executive Leadership Team

Brent Leichty (east region) and Jason Holliday (west region) were elected as clergy representatives.

Tyler Bates (central region) and Bob Tobey (north region) were elected as lay representatives. 

And one more thing…

 

We took the opportunity to celebrate Cathy Reich, whose love and passion for the church have been evident for the 27 years she served at the United Brethren National Office. Cathy retired in the fall of 2024 but was able to pop back in to help us with a few details leading up to this conference.

We will share more about the conference in the coming days, including photos from the week and videos of the worship sessions.    

15 Jul

July 15, 2025 |

The Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana is full of energy as people begin to arrive for the 2025 United Brethren Nationsl Conference. It’s good to see so many pastors, delegates and UB families walking the familiar halls of the convention center and catching up on life and ministry since the last time they saw one another.

The conference officially kicks off this evening at 6:30 with worship service lead by Chris and Bethany Solyntjes from Renew Communities and featuring keynote speaker, Rob Wegner. If you are unable to join us in person for worship, you are invited to join us via livestream. This link will be available for every worship service this week — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 pm and Friday at 9:00 am. Live streams will begin 5 minutes before each service with a welcome and conclude with an interview after service with our keynote speaker.

You can also keep an eye on our facebook page for photos and videos of the conference as it happens.

Are you ready? Let’s move!

10 Jul

July 10, 2025 |

As many of you prepare for National Conference next week, we wanted to make you aware of a few updates we have made to the downloadable reports, primarily dealing with the numbering of those reports. The document titled, List of Reports, is accurate and has the reports numbered correctly. However the reports they refer to have been numbered incorrectly until now. They are being corrected and will be re-uploaded by noon today.

One other change has been made to the Rules and Procedures page. The date has been changed in item 35 from 2022 to 2024.

We apologize for any confusion and inconvenience this may have caused, but we want to ensure we are all working from the same documents when we arrive for the business session next Wednesday morning.

02 Jul

July 2, 2025 |

National Conference begins two weeks from today and we are looking forward to seeing so many of you there. For those who may have missed the registration deadline, we have good news. We have extended the deadline to Monday, July 7. If you or others in your congregation are still planning to attend, you can still register here.

The reports for the business session have also been posted on the conference webpage and are available for download. If you are serving as a ministerial or lay delegate for the conference, please take a moment to download those documents and read through them before you arrive. We will be adding a few additional documents in the coming days as well, so be sure to visit that page a couple of times this week to ensure you have everything you need to prepare for the conference business session.

Please note, hard copies of these documents will not be provided on site at conference. If you prefer a hard copy, you will need to print it before you leave home.

The countdown is on… We’ll see you soon!

10 Jun

June 10, 2025 |

 

On Wednesday, June 11 at 1:00 pm EDT, Bishop Todd Fetters will interview Rob Wegner, our keynote speaker for Tuesday and Wednesday nights at National Conference. This will be a great opportunity to get to know a little more about Rob, his family, and his passion for ministry. We will also ask Rob about a few ways our United Brethren family can pray for him as he prepares for the conference.

The interview will be streamed live on Facebook at 1:00 EDT. If you are unable to watch it live, it will remain on that page until conference.

National Conference registration is open until June 30, but the discounted hotel rooms being held for the conference expire in the next couple of days.

04 Jun

June 4, 2025 |

Prince Street UB (PSC) is seeking a part-time Children’s Ministry Coordinator who will help provide relational and administrative leadership from nursery through grade 5. The role involves selection and oversight of curriculum for the children’s programs as well as building relationships with the children, their parents, and the volunteer staff assisting in children’s ministry. A more detailed job description is available here or at princestreetchurch.com under About Us.

If interested, email a resume and a letter of interest to [email protected].

04 Jun

June 4, 2025 |

We are six weeks away from kicking off the 2025 UB National Conference and we can’t wait to see you there! But as the kickoff date approaches, so too do the deadlines for registration (June 30) and reserving rooms through our dedicated hotel blocks (June 13 for Hampton Inn and Courtyard and June 22 for Hilton). If you are planning to attend, you can start the registration process now.

Workshops

We have recently updated the list of available workshops, along with descriptions for the majority of them, on the conference website. Stop by for a visit to see what is being offered and start planning your workshop track. The list will continue to be updated

Promotional Materials

Are you still in the process of inviting delegates? Are you local and have people interested in attending the evening worship services? There is a new link on the conference website to download a few promotional materials that can be used during worship services, as announcement slides, or social media posts. That link is available now and will be active through conference but we’ve included it here as well to save you the trouble.

29 May

May 29, 2025 |

Philomath Community Church in Philomath, Oregon, a town founded by United Brethren missionaries, is searching for their next pastor. This individual will be gifted in leadership, administration, and communication, but have a heart bent toward helping a diverse group of people develop their spiritual lives. They must be accepting of people with divergent backgrounds, compassionate and sensitive to the needs of the community, and able to help people develop a faith in Jesus that impacts their daily lives.  

Philomath Community Church is a well respected church in the community due to their collaborative spirit and willingness to partner with other local churches and ministries. It is a congregation of approximately 45 people and is one of just a few churches in the area. The facilities, which, aside from the sanctuary, include a gymnasium, a Christian education building and a fellowship building, can easily accommodate the growth they desire. This friendly and generous congregation looks forward to welcoming their next pastor.  

The senior pastor role at Philomath Community Church is a full time position. 

If you are interested in exploring this opportunity further, please send a copy of your resume, a cover letter, and a recent photo to [email protected].



20 May

May 20, 2025 |

National Conference begins exactly 8 weeks from today! If you plan to attend but are not yet registered, you can do so here.

In slightly more urgent news, the hotel room blocks that are reserved for National Conference attendees expire in less than a month. You have until June 13, 2025, to book your lodging at either the Courtyard Marriott or the Hampton Inn. The room block for the Hilton expires on June 22, 2025, but it is most likely to fill up with it being the only hotel directly connected to the Grand Wayne Center.

We will continue to make regular updates to the website to keep you informed of workshops, speakers, golf outing, schedules and business session reports. Bookmark the page and check back often for all the latest information.

Did I mention you can register here?

09 May

May 9, 2025 |

In order to help delegates prepare for conference, we are hosting a series of regional preview meetings. During these preview sessions, Bishop Fetters will share the proposals that will be presented during the business session at NC25. While no votes will be taken at these sessions, they do provide a space for more interaction and dialogue than would otherwise be possible at the national conference business session where the voting does take place.

The preview session packet is now available for download, and includes the following:

  • Nominating Committee Report (ELT and Bishop)
  • ELT Candidate Bios
  • Discipline Revision Proposals

The Discipline revision proposals primarily focus on the work of a task force enlisted by Bishop Fetters to better define church as described in the UB Discipline. The video linked below is the first in a series we will share leading up to conference related to this work. This first video explains more about why this task force was assembled, the process they followed, and the proposals they are making as a result of their work.

Click here to register for a preview session in your area.

Click here to register for National Conference.