Annual Conference Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Designated/elected lay members from local Great Lakes GMC congregations, Great Lakes GMC clergy, ordinands and their family/friends/congregation members, those being recognized as transitional local pastors, ministry candidates, interested members of Global Methodist congregations, and United Methodists who are considering whether the Global Methodist Church might be a good spiritual home for them. Everyone is welcome to register and attend.

Pay attention to the special Youth Ministry Track at Annual Conference (and a GREAT DEAL for youth and youth group leaders who bring 2-3 from their congregation along with them)

And children? 

Of course! We have an excellent children’s ministry team and program. 

While the conference business session is a relatively small part of the schedule for our time together, only lay members elected by their local churches or invited to be an equalizing layperson as well as clergy are entitled to vote during the business session. 

Voting Members of the Annual Conference are all active clergy members as well as Senior Status clergy who have notified the Annual Conference at least 90 days prior to the session that they intend to vote as well as attend. Lay members are to be elected by the local church on the basis of one lay person for each clergy appointed to a local church. 

Per the Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church, paragraph 708.1:

The voting membership of an annual conference shall be composed of those elders, deacons, and transitional local pastors under appointment (except as limited elsewhere in the Book of Doctrines and Discipline) and senior clergy who meet the qualifications of ¶ 520, as well as at least an equal number of lay members elected by each charge or by the district or annual conference. Each charge shall be entitled to as many lay members as it has appointed clergy. 

The GLAC Leadership Council has determined a method of selecting additional lay members to equalize the number of clergy members and that process is underway.

We have contracted with VPoll, a vendor that is supporting many other GMC annual conference sessions. Using VPoll allows us to vote using our smartphones, tablets, or laptop computers. It is a very cost-effective and efficient way for us to conduct the business portion of our session. A staff member from VPoll will be present during our business and election sessions to provide technical assistance as needed. For those who do not use a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer, a handheld voting device will be provided if you request it. Check the appropriate box on the registration form if you want VPoll to provide you with a handheld voting device. 

The items for consideration will be available online by May 1.

Resolutions or petitions may be submitted for consideration during the business session of the Annual Conference. The online form for submitting a resolution or petition is available now. The deadline for submitting a resolution or petition is April 1, 2025. 

Please note: those submitting the resolution or petition may be contacted by the legislation coordinator of the annual conference to discuss the petition/resolution and perhaps recommend a conversation with the committee/leader/group for whom the resolution/petition seeks to provide direction. 

We have an excellent line up of breakout session leaders…there are twenty breakout sessions that will be offered throughout our Annual Conference. We know that not everyone will be able to attend every session they are interested in, so we are working to ensure that there is an audio recording of each session to be released after conference has concluded.

We are glad that Spring Arbor University is hosting our annual conference. Campus housing provides various options at a very competitive rate per person per night. Hotel options close to the campus are somewhat limited, but we have provided links on our registration form if registrants want to consider hotels in the larger area. 

The Connectional Funding of the Great Lakes Annual Conference allows us to offer registration, housing, and meals to children at no cost and youth at lowered cost.

In addition, local church youth leaders bringing 5 or more youth from their church are also FREE, as long as they and their youth attend the late night youth activities and at least one breakout session.

The question of whether all cats and dogs go to heaven is sometimes hotly debated, but no cats or dogs (actually, no animals) are permitted in SAU student housing during our annual conference session --- with the exception of service animals who are always welcome.

Indicate that you would like to volunteer during annual conference on your registration form. We'll send a separate email with volunteer opportunities, schedule for serving, and times/places for orientation in April 2025. We'll confirm volunteer teams and orientation times in an email to those volunteering around the May.

Yes! We expect Holy Spirit-filled, Christ-honoring worship that includes all of us. Our times of worship will allow us to unite our voices using familiar hymns as well as contemporary worship songs. 

1. If you have remaining paperwork or any portion of the process for ordination/credentialing yet unfinished, it’s time to get crackin’. Contact Rev. Samuel Padgett if you have questions on your status (samuel.padgett@greatlakesgmc.org).

2. Ordination Rehearsal will be mandatory and take place at a time TBD and announced by the Board of Ministry.

3. The ordination service is scheduled for Thursday evening, at 7 pm at Arbor Church. Childcare will be provided for preschool aged children. Older children are invited to attend the ordination service. 

Please go to our Annual Conference website and you’ll find the portal to submit legislation there.  If you have questions about the difference between a petition and resolution or anything legislation related, please contact Chris Gadlage at chris.gadlage@greatlakesgmc.org. 

In order to be considered for the General Conference delegation, you need to fill out the self nomination form which is located on our conference website under Annual Conference 2025 until April 1, 2025.  If you are an eligible member of the body and fill out the form, you will be on the ballot at Annual Conference in June.  If you have questions about your eligibility to run, please contact Chris Gadlage at chris.gadlage@greatlakesgmc.org.  

The list of candidates will be released along with all other legislation relevant to Annual Conference in May 2025.

Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Discussions will be shorter and you will be more prepared for what you’ll be voting on if you read everything in advance.  We don’t want you to just rubber stamp anything that is presented.  Please come ready and informed!

Don’t worry, we all are. You can reach out directly to the person who submitted the piece of legislation.  If you need contact information, reach out to the conference office (office@greatlakesgmc.org) and we’ll help you get in touch.

Absolutely.  We do not want money to be the reason that anyone cannot come to conference.  Email Kathy Anderson at registrar@greatlakesgmc.org and we will do everything in our power to make conference affordable for you.

Contact Kara Bussabarger (kara.bussabarger@greatlakesgmc.org), Administrative Assistant for the Great Lakes Conference. She will either have the information or will forward your email to the appropriate person.