Annual Conference 2026
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV
Important Update: The Pre Conference Journal has been updated. If you downloaded your copy before May 22, please be sure to download the updated budget section (pages 21–25) to have the latest information.
Map of the Hot Springs Convention Center:
Annual Conference Registration Form (PDF)
Request for Excused Absence (Clergy) (PDF)
Retired Clergy Per Diem (PDF) Per diem will be mailed AFTER Annual Conference
Sunday, June 14
5 p.m. First Timers Gathering: Free
Rooms 102 – 103, Hot Springs Convention Center
6-8 p.m. Hendrix College Alumni and Friends Reception: Free
501 Prime, 215 E. Grand Avenue, Hot Springs
Contact: J.J. Whitney at 501-450-1358
Monday, June 15
Noon United Women in Faith: $25
First UMC, 1100 Central Ave., Hot Springs, AR
Contact: Betty Cook (870) 942-6461, jbcook@windstream.net
***Transportation from the Convention Center will be provided***
6 p.m. AR Black Methodists for Church Renewal Dr. Negail Riley Dinner: $50
The Hotel Hot Springs Grand Ballroom, 305 Malvern Ave, Hot Springs
Contact: Maxine Allen, mallen@arumc.org
Tuesday, June 16
Noon Retiree Luncheon: RC/SS Free; $20 for others
Rooms 207-209, Hot Springs Convention Center
Contact: Wendy Brunson Daniels (501) 324-8029
Noon Arkansas Conference Clergy Women’s Luncheon: $25
Grand Avenue UMC, 841 Quapaw Avenue, Hot Springs
Contact: Susan Ledbetter, sledbetter@arumc.org
Noon Phillips Theological Seminary Alumni & Friends Luncheon: Self-pay
Café 1217, 1217 Malvern Ave #B, Hot Springs
Contact: Kurt Gwartney kurt.gwartney@ptstulsa.edu
7:30 p.m. Saint Paul School of Theology Alumni Dinner: Self-pay
Blue Ember Smokehouse, 801 Higdon Ferry Road, Hot Springs
7:30 p.m. SMU Perkins School of Theology Alumni, Students & Friends: Self-pay
TBA
Contact: Bart Patton, bartp@mail.smu.edu
Wednesday, June 17
7 a.m. Creation Care Breakfast: $15
Grand Avenue UMC, 841 Quapaw Avenue, Hot Springs
Contact: Kelly Giese, kellygiese29@gmail.com
We are honored to have Bishop Mande Muyombo joining us for this year’s Annual Conference! He will be the preacher for Ordination on Tuesday, June 16 at 5:30pm in Horner Hall.
The Rev. Dr. Mande Muyombo is the bishop of the North Katanga Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church (UMC). In that role, he oversees the largest episcopal area in the denomination, with three annual conferences and over one million members. He currently serves as the Chair of the UMC’s Connectional Table and was previously Secretary of the Council of Bishops (2018-2020).
Bishop Mande takes a holistic approach to his work, seeking to build peace and prosperity through the training and equipping of community leaders and investing in essential infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, clinics, potable water systems, agriculture, and transportation solutions. Mande also actively engages with mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo on matters of corporate social responsibility; his Metallurgical Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Lubumbashi (1998) allows him to speak with technical expertise.
Born into a large family in Kambove village in Haut Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bishop Mande was the first of 16 children to graduate college. Mande received two degrees from Africa University, where he was also student director of the Africa University Choir. He is the first graduate from Africa University to be elected bishop in The United Methodist Church. Prior to being elected bishop, Mande served as president of Kamina Methodist University, DR Congo, and then was recruited by the UMC’s General Board of Global Ministries, where he served as Executive Secretary for Africa, Assistant General Secretary of Missions and Evangelism, and finally Executive Director of the Global Mission Connections unit in their New York and Atlanta offices.
Mande earned a Bachelor of Divinity (2006) and Master in Peace, Leadership and Governance (2008) from Africa University and an MA in Theological Studies with an Ethics/Church and Society Concentration (2010) and Doctor of Ministry in Children and Poverty in a Globalized Economy (2015) from Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City. Bishop Mande has researched extensively on the topic of peacebuilding and the role of the church in electoral processes in Zimbabwe and DR Congo.
Mande is married to Blandine Mujinga, and they have three daughters and a son.
We are thrilled to welcome Reverend Dr. Paul Chilcote to this year’s Annual Conference! He will be leading us in two learning sessions – Tuesday, June 16 at 1:30pm and Wednesday, June 17 at 9:15am.
The Revd Dr Paul W. Chilcote served in retirement as Director of the Centre for Global Wesleyan Theology at Wesley House, Cambridge, where he continues as an Honorary Lifetime Fellow. A Methodist historian and theologian and award-winning author, he completed his BA in Theology & History at Valparaiso University, his MDiv at Duke Divinity School, and his PhD. in historical theology under renowned Wesley scholar, Dr. Frank Baker at Duke University.
He has been involved in theological education on three Continents, having taught at Wesley College (England), St. Paul’s United Theological College (Kenya), the Methodist Theological School (Ohio), Duke Divinity School (North Carolina), and having helped launch two new institutions—Africa University (Zimbabwe) and Asbury Theological Seminary (Florida). He also served as Academic Dean and Professor of Historical Theology & Wesleyan Studies at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio.
He is the author or editor of nearly forty books, including Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit, Recapturing the Wesleys’ Vision, The Methodist Defense of Women in Ministry, Making Disciples in a World Parish, and Early Methodist Spirituality. He received the prestigious Saddlebag Award for two books related to lyrical theology: A Faith That Sings (in 2017) and Singing the Faith (in 2021). Recent books related to the future of the United Methodist Church include Multiplying Love, Cultivating Christlikeness, and The Fullest Possible Love. One of his most recent books, On Love: Twenty Lessons for the Life We Seek, he co-authored with his wife, Janet.
He is a frequent speaker and workshop leader in applied Wesleyan studies, particularly in the areas of theology, spirituality, and Christian discipleship. He served as the President of The Charles Wesley Society from 2003-2011. He has been a Benedictine oblate of Mt. Angel Abbey for over twenty-five years. He and Janet, a retired United Methodist pastor, have five daughters, Sandy, Rebekah, Anna, Mary, and Ruth, and eight grandchildren, Alyssa, Levi, and Theo Brooks, Collin, Oliver, Elsie, and Elliott Glass, and Isabella Gitonga.
Board of Church and Society – https://youtu.be/d9wMyItTQbo
Board of Global Ministries – https://youtu.be/FEKpPr5Pw-8
Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministries – https://youtu.be/suzcLmmaeDo
Camp Tanako – https://youtu.be/a34Gz7dd4sg
Commission on Religion and Race – https://youtu.be/JLy6tehCv6I
Committee on Disability Concerns – https://youtu.be/Vt7UWCCrWjY
Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns – https://youtu.be/o6byw_SwXso
Committee on Native American Ministry – https://youtu.be/kbLlrHdNgPc
Council on Young Adult Ministries – https://youtu.be/X37W2N71cdI
Interdenominational Cooperation Fund – https://youtu.be/DOMlLBjMgGQ
Lay Servant Ministries – https://youtu.be/EoBgwlEkN1M
LGBTQ Task Force – https://youtu.be/YNcu9yVNP2w
Mount Eagle – https://youtu.be/_I02IiIaD9w
Philander Smith University – https://youtu.be/GxK8JHJAJnc
United Women in Faith – https://youtu.be/oH1ManTwkNg
VIM and Disaster Response – https://youtu.be/fmlK9HA_qAU
Understanding How the ARUMC Budget is Prepared
Reading the Proposed Budget
Tentative Itinerary
*Itinerary is subject to change.
Sunday, June 14:
- 4 p.m. – Registration Opens
- 5 p.m. – Ordination Rehearsal in Horner Hall
Monday, June 15:
- 7:30 a.m. – Registration Opens
- 9 a.m. – Laity Session in Rooms 207-209
- 9 a.m. – Clergy Session in Horner Hall
- 10:15 a.m. – Break
- 10:30 a.m. – Opening Worship
- Noon – Lunch Break
- 1:30 p.m. – Business Session
- 3 p.m. – Clergy Coffee Break
- 3:15 p.m. – Episcopal Address
- 3:45 p.m. – Break
- 4 p.m. – Business Session
Tuesday, June 16:
- 8:15 a.m. – Worship
- 8:30 a.m. – Laity and Youth Addresses
- 8:50 p.m. – Business Session
- 10 a.m. – Break
- 10:15 a.m. – BOM Report
- 10:45 Break – Retirees Honored in Lobby
- 11 a.m. – Retiree Recognition
- Noon – Lunch Break
- 1:30 p.m. – Learning Session with Rev. Paul Chilcote
- 2:15 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
- 3 p.m. – Break
- 3:15 p.m. – Business Session
- 4:15 p.m. – Break
- 5:30 p.m. – Ordination in Horner Hall
Wednesday, June 17:
- 8:15 a.m. – Worship
- 8:30 a.m. – Business Session
- 9:15 a.m. – Learning Session with Rev. Paul Chilcote
- 10 a.m. – Breakout Sessions
- 10:45 a.m. – Break
- 11 a.m. – Service of Remembrance
- Noon – Lunch Break
- 1:30p.m. – Business Session
- 2 p.m. – Break
- 2:15 p.m. – Setting of Appointments, Sending Forth and Closing Worship