Bishop Jones Calls Christ Methodist Into a Mission Moment
Bishop Scott Jones of the Global Methodist Church returned to Christ Methodist in Memphis on Sunday, April 19, bringing with him both an encouraging update on the young denomination's remarkable growth and a personal challenge he laid squarely at the congregation's feet: help fund a worship space in the Middle East before he retires.
A Church That Is "Alive and Well"
Bishop Jones opened by tracing his journey back to 1988, when he sat in the sanctuary of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas and heard the conference statistician report yet another year of declining membership in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.
"I said, I don't want to live that way," Jones told the gathered crowd. "I don't want to be a part of a dying institution."
That prayer for the renewal of Methodism, he said, has finally been answered.
Since the Global Methodist Church formally launched, Jones has described the first three and a half years as the best of his ministry. The denomination has now surpassed 7,000 congregations worldwide, adding churches not primarily through disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church, which he said has largely run its course, but through genuine evangelistic growth among unchurched people.
"Our existing Global Methodist churches are reaching unchurched people and growing with new believers," Jones said. "We're hearing anecdotes like that all over the world."
Recent highlights include 60 Venezuelan churches joining together last month, and a new conference formed last year in India comprising 600 congregations across India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, most of them house churches operating in contexts where Christianity is hostile to the government.
Jones summarized the denomination's identity with eight adjectives: "Bible-believing, Jesus-following, Spirit-led, mission-focused, grace-filled, global, Wesleyan movement."
A Wesleyan Foothold in the Persian Gulf
The second and more urgent portion of Jones's message centered on a specific opportunity in Doha, Qatar, and a frank admission that he dropped the ball getting it funded.
Jones described visiting Filipino Global Methodist congregations in Qatar, one of three churches serving the country's 2.2 million overseas workers. Qatar's population, he explained, is only 300,000 native citizens. Everyone else, those who are filling restaurants, staffing hotels, and driving taxis, has come from Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, and dozens of other countries. By law, non-Muslim religious practice is permitted on Fridays as long as no one attempts to evangelize a Muslim citizen.
During that visit, Jones learned that the Evangelical Church Alliance of Qatar had received permission from the country's ruling Sheik to construct a new multi-denominational worship facility. The alliance invited the Global Methodist Church to reserve a dedicated worship space in the building, large enough for 200 people.
The price tag: $452,000 for the space, with construction costs elevated because all materials must be imported. After the initial contributions, the remaining need is $250,000.
"I am a good administrator," Jones said with characteristic candor. "But I'm spread too thin, and quite frankly, if I'd been a good bishop, I would've signed that contract for $452,000 and then worked out a funding plan to raise the money. I didn't do that."
The Mississippi-West Tennessee Conference, which partners with Filipino conferences in the denomination's relational mission model, has already committed $30,000 per year to the project. But with monthly payments of $12,500 now due, the gap is real, and the clock is ticking.
Bishop Jones is retiring from active episcopal ministry on October 31 and has said plainly that he wants this resolved before he hands off to his successor.
More Than a Building
Jones cast the Qatar project as more than a practical real estate need. The current Filipino congregation, around 100 people, is packed into a rented house they're about to lose the lease on. A dedicated facility would allow not only a Filipino worship service, but potentially Kenyan, Indian, and other language services for the diverse Christian worker population spread across 174 nationalities in Doha.
Looking further ahead, Jones pointed to what he sees as a spiritual stirring in the Muslim world. He cited a pastor in Casablanca who runs an internet ministry and regularly hears from Muslims who say they have dreamed about Jesus. He mentioned similar reports from Iran.
"What is God up to in this area?" Jones asked. "I think having a Wesleyan worship space in Qatar positions us for amazing things down the road, and I want to be ready for that."
How to Give
For individuals wishing to give directly to the Mississippi-West Tennessee Conference's Qatar project, visit the GIVE link below. Bishop Jones encouraged Christ Methodist to consider a congregational effort as well, noting that any local church contribution would be in addition to regular connectional giving.
Jones closed with a reflection on the difference between praying for God to bless his own plans and learning to ask instead where God is already at work, and how to join Him.
"When God opens the door and invites me to go through it," he said, "I don't want to miss that."
In the drop-down menu, select "QATAR" and complete your donation. Please, share CHRIST CHURCH MEMPHIS in the memo line, so we can track CMC giving to this project. Thank you for your support!
Bishop Scott Jones has served the Global Methodist Church since its formation and oversees 12 annual conferences. He and his wife Mary Lou travel the global connection regularly. He is scheduled to retire from active episcopal ministry on October 31.