2025 Discipleship Ministry Reports

 The following reports are from Discipleship Ministries and will be voted on in the Consent Calendar at Annual Conference. They will appear in the  2025 Journal as a record of the mission and ministry of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Advocacy and Action | Committee on Native American Ministries | Deaf Ministries and Shalom Zone, Inc. | Gender Equity - COSROW | The Gun Violence Prevention Team | Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century | Leadership Development Board | Wellness and Missions Board | Retreat and Camping Ministries | Campus Ministries |  Commission on Archives and History and the BWC Historical Society

Advocacy and Action

Purpose: to faithfully answer God's call for justice, mercy, and advocacy by partnering with individuals and organizations to reform systems that are unjust and oppressive as guided by Scripture, The Social Principles, and the Resolutions of the UMC.

 2024 Goals and Impact

  • Partner with a sociologist and a statistician to analyze, refine, and support BWC equity goals across the conference. This effort will include mining data collected from various sources (including annual charge/church conference reports, statistical reports, and church accessibility audits) for the purpose of designing and implementing actionable, equitable practices.
    • Impact: We are focusing on local congregations across the connection and are developing opportunities to listen, monitor and measure metrics that indicate increased equity.
  • Create three resource pathways for congregations to advance racial equity in and beyond their local context. The three pathways are for (a) congregations that have not started the work and would like assistance in beginning their journey, (b) congregations who have started their journey, but who need extra support, and (c) congregations who have met or exceeded their initial goals, want to advance or are willing to serve as a resource for other congregations.
    • Impact: We have worked across diverse people groups to identify tangible measures of progress, including charge conference reports and local church engagement. Additionally, we collaborated with K Scarry of The People’s Supper to produce The Racial Justice Toolkit, which guides congregations through this work as disciples of Jesus Christ. This contextual toolkit will be launched and available to congregational leaders by April 30, 2025.
  • Through our Social Action teams, connect with local congregations to increase Justice Advocates by two percent and measure this through ministry engagement data.
    • Justice advocates are people of faith who are committed to advancing equity as aligned with our mission (stated above). These advocates are particularly identified in the areas of environmental justice, gender equity, gun violence prevention, legislative advocacy, racial justice, restorative justice, immigration reform, and wealth and health equity (which includes affordable housing). Through legislative advocacy days, partnerships with faith-based organizations, webinars, in-person teach-ins and community organizing trainings, we believe justice advocates have increased by 2%. Additional information is reported in our social action team reports.
  • We celebrate over $37,000 in Mission Innovation Grants awarded to congregations or partnerships across the region:
    • Asbury Broadneck UMC
    • West River Center
    • Hancock UMC
    • JAF Civil Rights Pilgrimage (John Wesley AME Zion, Asbury UMC, Foundry UMC)
    • Jones Memorial UMC
    • National UMC/ Campus Ministries
    • National United Methodist Church
    • North Bethesda UMC
    • Simpson-Hamline UMC
    • The United Covenant Union
  • We celebrate nearly $21,000 awarded to CRCC pastoral leaders.

2025 Goals

Our three goals remain and include the Call to Action on Racial Justice as approved at NEJ 2016. To learn more information and get involved, visit https://www.bwcumc.org/ministries/love-like-jesus/advocacy-action/

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Rochelle Andrews
Rev. Stacey Cole Wilson, Executive Minister of Beloved Community

Committee on Native American Ministries (CoNAM)

Purpose: The Committee on Native American Ministries seeks to promote and support Native American Ministries in the Baltimore-Washington Conference and throughout the connection.

Goals:  To build awareness of and advocacy for issues affecting Native Americans.

Impact:  For the purpose of greater advocacy, education and awareness, we have explored issues that currently affect Native American communities such as: education; federal services to Native American People associated with political changes like environmental protection and climate Cchange. 

  • Federal Recognition of Tribal Status
  • Native Lands and Sacred Places
  • Tribal Sovereignty and Jurisdiction
  • Mascots, Hate and Native Representation
  • Indian Day and UM Boarding Schools Healing - calling for a reading of this report with a commitment to actions as stated.

We have supported policy statements issued by the Native American International Caucus (NAIC) and GCORR resources for Native American Ministries Sunday such as:

By the End of 2025:  We will continue to advocate for policies that support Native Americans and their communities. We will continue to gain support of CoNAM at the local church level by providing educational and advocacy opportunities. We will support Native American Course of Study via scholarships and provide $10,000 for indigenous youth in grades two through eight to attend Indigenous Youth Camp Arrowhead, https://www.camparrowhead.net/indigenous-youth-camp.html.

Submitted by
Richard Church, CoNAM Chair
Rev. Stacey Cole Wilson, Staff Representative

Deaf Ministries and Deaf Shalom Zone, Inc

Purpose:  to empower Deaf and DeafBlind individuals toward greater Access, Equity, Independence, Opportunity and Unity through our C.A.R.E. model of Case Management, Advocacy, Referral, and Education. 

2024 Goals:

As we approached our 25th year of service we discerned a need to develop a more dynamic and diverse Board of Directors equipped for inspired leadership and a shared vision for sustainability and strength. 

  • We have updated our Bylaws to be more readily interpreted into ASL.
  • We have engaged a regular sign language interpreter for all our board meetings, and trained our secretary to use new technology to enhance the recording of minutes for our meetings.
  • We have defined and developed the role of Parliamentarian to help us stay focused on the main thing.

We also discerned a need for improving the way we collect and present data in an annual report which reflects and celebrates our accomplishments and forms the basis for making projections and preparations for growth. Each manager has developed a tool to measure service at the point of contact and to record contributions of volunteers and in-kind donors.   

Impact 

In the fourth quarter of 2024 we served 245 neighbors through the Friday pantry and 156 through the Sunday pantry. We provided case management a total of 12.5 hours of case management assisting 9 Deaf individuals with application for mobility transportation, SS benefits, housing/shelter, ASL education and hospital visits.   The first quarter of 2025 case management has increased to 25 hours of case management  services assisting 20 Deaf individuals with Health and nutrition, Health insurance, transportation, employment, shelter/housing, and immigration and legal aid referrals. 

We also engaged 17 new volunteers, six of them with developmental disabilities, six who are Deaf, and five seniors in volunteerism, serving their neighbors and learning valuable workplace skills. This experience is empowering and gratifying for populations of people who are often not seen by the economic sector.

By the End of 2025: We hope to have a full slate of officers, 50 percent Deaf, by the end of 2025.

We want to honor all of the ministers, volunteers and their work over the last 25 years, celebrate the Deaf community, and set up sustainable systems to continue to serve all God’s children.  We hope to double the number of neighbors served year over year in both the pantry and in case management, and more importantly, we hope to increase the number of Deaf volunteers, disabled and senior volunteers as well as students engaged in Service Learning with the Deaf Community. 

Respectfully submitted by:
Kathleen Jeffra, Deaf Shalom Zone Coordinator

Gender Equity – COSROW

Commission on the Status and Role of Women advocates for gender equity and equality across our connection and for the full participation of women in the total life of The United Methodist Church.

Goals:

  1. To rebuild and fill vacancies on the committee by finding ways to be inclusive of laity and clergy and diverse voices.
  2. Share information and resources so that churches will be able to address concerns. 

Impact: We prioritize the following areas:

  • Monitoring - We monitor our annual conference, conference committees, teams, and caucuses for inclusiveness and report this information to the UMC.
  • Education - We educate on inclusiveness, expansive language, and gender issues in support of the Church and the world.
  • Sexual Ethics - We provide resources for responding to and preventing sexual misconduct in the BWC through education, policies, and support.
  • Leadership - We nurture clergy and lay leaders in the church, both women and men, to recognize every person as a full and equal part of God’s human family.

We support the Parental Leave resolutions to strengthen families by recognizing every person as a full and equal part of God’s human family.

Being intentional about rebuilding will set the groundwork for building bridges, starting processes, and growing diverse relationships. It will encourage the members and participants to invest in resources that achieve goals that address congregational concerns and the UMC Apology.

 By the End of 2025: Determine whether publishing articles in the Advocacy and Action newsletter would be helpful and how to best create spaces for churches and groups to have conversations to address concerns.

Respectfully submitted by: 
Rev. Jalene C Chase, Gender Equity (COSROW) Chair

The Gun Violence Prevention Team

The Gun Violence Prevention Team advocates for decreasing gun violence in all its forms and for helping to heal those dealing with trauma from gun violence.

Goals: 

  1. To raise awareness within our conference of the terrible toll of gun violence in all its various forms and,
  2. As people of faith, begin to take some action to help lessen the violence.

 Impact:

  • We distributed safe firearm storage information at annual conference and in many of our congregations.
  • We marched in the “Out of the Darkness” national suicide prevention walk in October in Washington, DC.
  • We promoted a “Silence the Violence” benefit concert at National UMC in Washington, DC to benefit TraRon Center helping young trauma victims of gun violence.
  • We attended a November conference by Lt. Gov on Interfaith Solutions to Violence.
  • We participated in the BWC-UMC Legislative Advocacy Day in Annapolis and advocated for a bill to protect women and children by requiring disarmament earlier in the court process of persons who have had a domestic violence protective order issued against them.

By the End of 2025: We will continue to

  1. help our churches discuss the role they can play to decrease gun violence in our conference – whether by suicide prevention, safe firearm storage, community violence intervention and youth mentoring or other programs. 
  2. educate and promote awareness and provide resources to help churches with their own ministry to prevent gun violence.

 Respectfully submitted by:
Susan Bender, Gun Violence Prevention Social Action Team Chair

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century (SBC21)

Purpose: To transform and sustain vital Black congregations and Black pastors including those in cross-racial appointments through offering innovative resources, transformational learning models, and mentoring of young pastors.

2024 Goal: To provide spaces, resources, and opportunities to strengthen leadership for clergy and leaders of Black congregations and those in cross-racial appointments in order that they may be equipped for sustainable transformative ministry within their context.

Impact

  1. Strengthening Leadership Microgrants: Forty-four pastors were awarded the microgrant. Funds were used for coaching, workshops, conferences, resources, and other means of strengthening leadership.
  2. A partnership with Wesley Seminary was established in which two forums will be offered in collaboration. The first forum, Strengthening Our Prophetic Witness in This Present Age, was held in February 2025. Its purpose was to provide resourceful tools for amplifying our voices and strengthening our collective impact in the church and beyond. The first forum was successful with fifty-four registrants. Bishop Leah Daughtry, Paul Monteiro, and Rev. Dr. Lorena M. Parrish were the featured presenters. The Rev. Dr. Michael Bowie, the National SBC 21 Chair, was also in attendance. Attendees were inspired and instructed by the presenters. Additionally, they had the opportunity to share experience and wisdom with one another which assisted in guiding individuals to formulate next steps for ministry in the public forum in the coming months. 

By the end of 2025:

SBC21 will continue its partnership with Wesley Seminary by offering the second in the forum series in the fall of the year.

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century of the Baltimore Washington Conference in cooperation with SBC21 National are partnering to sponsor an initiative entitled “The Black Healing Collective.” This 5-session cohort model aimed at enhancing emotional well-being in the face of challenges faced by Black clergy, particularly in the United Methodist Church.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Ronald E. F. Triplett, SBC21 Chair

Leadership Development Board

The Leadership Development Board seeks to equip and nurture a culture of mature lay and clergy leadership who know their purpose and use their gifts to build up the body of Christ for the transformation of the world.

Goals: What were your goals for 2024 and what was your progress towards them? The goal of the Leadership Development Board for 2024 was to continue the development of a pilot Individual Discipleship Program (IDP) that would identify churches with successful programs and partner them with other churches that were interested in increasing discipleship.

Impact: The LDB determined that asking a congregation to be a Teaching Church was too big a commitment for a pastor and lay leadership. We then began exploring the possibility of retaining a discipleship coach to work with a cohort of churches to develop and implement an IDP. However, we were uncertain as to how that would fit in with the restructuring for vital change process.

By the End of 2025: We will develop a list of Deepening Discipleship and Multiplying Impact resources for the newly formed Collaborative Hubs to use in their work together.

The Board meets quarterly. Meeting dates for 2025 are Saturday, February 22, Saturday, June 21, Saturday, September 13, and Saturday, November 8.  All meetings, except one in-person meeting, are via Zoom.

We seek youth, young adults, and seasoned saints who have a passion to inspire, encourage and empower, and equip others to be disciples who transform disciples for the transformation of the world.

 Respectfully submitted by:
Nona Colbert, Leadership Development Board Chair

Wellness and Missions Board

Purpose: to reduce human suffering by engaging more people in service with the ministries of compassion and mercy domestically and around the globe.

2024 Goals and Impact:

In 2024, the Board set out to support our small or more rural churches with much-needed property improvements and repairs through Second Saturday Serve events. The plans and coordination for these events were interrupted by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and soon followed by flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, and snowstorms. This required that priorities be shifted to support those impacted by these devastating events across the Connection.

When we called for your help -- you responded! Donating to UMCOR, providing gift cards and snacks, organizing hygiene packing events, and making plans to deploy in the spring and summer months - together we demonstrated the strength of the Connection and the impact that can be made when we put our love in action.

Also in 2024, we give God thanks for the faithful service of Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena, Conference missionaries retiring after a combined 55 years of service. Also, Church and Community Worker, Rev. Julie Wilson completed her service in 2024.

By the End of 2025:

In 2025, we will continue to help those in need, locally and around the globe.  In 2025, we plan to increase the number of Early Response Team members, to kick off the Disaster Cadre, and to pack 10,000 kits to support survivors and ministries with the poor.

Respectfully submitted by:
Mikele Haskins Delmore, Conference Secretary on Global Missions and Board Chair

New Faith Expressions Board

Purpose: to equip and encourage change makers to gather new people in new places and spaces in order to bring the Church Jesus loves closer to the people Jesus loves.

2024 Goals and Impact:

Focus for New Faith Expressions has been twofold over the past year. We continue to guide and equip our local churches to take their next step towards becoming 100% vital. The foundation of our strategy is to help congregations get a good understanding of their current reality. In 2024, we accomplished this by accompanying 5 congregations through the study “Choosing the Faithful Path”. In addition to the benefits received by these churches, we learned that the process needed to be simplified so we developed and ran a pilot of Vitality Conversations. These are based on the Readiness 360 survey and a follow-up debrief of the results and recommendations. In January 2025, this process was made available to all local churches.

 As we look to expand our reach and launch new expressions of church and new faith communities we launched our second year of the Fresh Expressions Academy. 16 innovators are journeying together to learn how to move the church beyond their buildings and engage their mission field. We also undertook an expansive study of our Annual Conference to begin to determine where we might be able to plant new churches in the coming year. 

Respectfully submitted by:
Deborah Johnson, New Faith Expressions Board Chair
Rev. Bill Brown, Director of Innovative Evangelism  

Young People’s Ministry Board

Purpose: Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we activate, connect and engage more young people as disciples of Jesus for the transformation of lives, churches and communities.

The YPM Board coordinates, oversees, supports, and contributes to the crafting of the vision of all young people’s ministry within the conference (including, but not limited to campus ministry, the work of Young Adult Council, and the work of the Campus Ministries Task Force).

2024 Goals and Impact:

As our context changes rapidly, many churches continue struggling to keep up with the next generation. Like many local churches, we continue to be in a learning and experimentation cycle required for this adaptive challenge. We continue to use the simplified objectives created out of the goal areas set in 2018.

  • Objective 1 - Growing Local Church Youth Engagement. In 2024, we hired three part-time Young People’s Ministry organizers who have been contacting local churches to learn what the vital needs are at the local level and are providing resources to local churches to help them grow youth engagement.
  • Objective 2 - Expanding the Impact and Places of Campus Ministry. Please see the Campus Ministry Task Force Report for details.
  • Objective 3 - Increasing Young People’s Engagement Beyond the Local Church. From Zoom meetings to events to an ever-growing database, we continue to expand engagement. Three youth attended the NEJ Conference in July in Pittsburgh, PA where they worshipped, served, and learned . In the fall, youth and leaders attended campfires at our Retreat and Camping sites to worship, play, and connect. In March, over a thousand youth and leaders attended IGNITE. 40 young adults served as part of the IGNITE Squad and held a listening session to inform and shape young adult ministry for the future.
  • Objective 4 - Developing Innovative, Discipling Leaders (Students, Young Adults and Adults). Youth who served as members at large for Annual Conference 2024 took on additional leadership opportunities by joining the Young People’s Ministry board, participating in Connectional Table, and participating in IGNITE planning meetings.
  • Objective 5 - Cultivating an Ecosystem of Innovation. Gathering innovators for mutual support and connecting them to mission innovation grants and other opportunities as needed and available.
  • Objective 6 - Special Needs Ministry. The Commission on Disability has been hard at work increasing awareness, audits and accompaniment as congregations make accommodations necessary for all God’s children to experience places of belonging. They have recently added a special education educator to support this critical work.
  • Objective 7 - Mental Health. We continue to point people to our YPM Wellness site for resourcing and hosted a well attended Mental Health workshop at IGNITE.
  • The YPM board awarded Missional Innovation grants totaling $38,000:
    • $5,000 Youth Summit/Joint Cluster Youth Initiatives, Baltimore Metropolitan District
    • $1,500 MLK Day of Service, Glen Mar UMC, Central Maryland District
    • $5,000 Courage to Lead for Young Leaders & Activists Retreat, North Bethesda UMC, Greater Washington District
    • $5,000 JAF Civil Rights Pilgrimage, Greater Washington District
    • $5,000 Project Transformation, Greater Washington District
    • $2,000 Ward 4 Community Peace Building Initiative, Simpson-Hamline UMC, Greater Washington District
    • $5,000 Bands from the Block, Simpson-Hamline UMC, Greater Washington District
    • $1,500 Elementary Success Summer Tutoring Program, Mission Central Parish, Baltimore Suburban District
    • $5,000 "You Give Them Something to Eat," Emory Fellowship, Greater Washington District
    • $3,000 Young Achievers Ministry, Asbury Town Neck, Annapolis District

By the End of 2025:

  • Plans continue for our area-wide strategy for a youth discipleship pathway that focuses on faith formation and relationship building. Plans include bonfires in the fall; a large, weekend-long conference for youth in spring 2026; and opportunities for youth and young adults to plan and serve pre, during, and post event with a pool party kick-off on June 21, 2025 at Pecometh..
  • We were awarded the Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer grant from the Lilly Endowment which will support congregations in experiencing, developing and implementing strategies for intergenerational worship and faith formation.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Sam Tryon, Young People’s Ministry Board Chair
Cheryl Cook, Discipleship Ministries Manager

Retreat and Camping Ministries

Purpose: To provide camp and retreat opportunities that utilize experiential learning and communal Christian living to guide individuals as they grow in love of God, self, neighbor, and nature.

2024 was a year filled with change, improvements, and growth in Retreat and Camping Ministries (RCM).  Change took the form of transition of staff at three full-time positions within RCM, including the Director at Manidokan.  Manidokan also scaled back the number of weeks of BWC summer camp programs from 8 to 5 to reflect current demand, improve efficiency, and open up more opportunities for outside rental income.

Improvements this past year were both virtual and physical with the launch of new websites for each site along with significant facility improvements.  At Harmison, materials were purchased to replace the deck on the retreat center in early 2025.  Manidokan was able to purchase a new camp truck, acquire a skid loader and begin the total renovation of all four cabins, which will be completed before summer camp.  West River replaced the roofs of four buildings and was able to replace the damaged L-Dock with a brand-new hybrid fixed and floating dock to make the dock more resilient to climate change and more accessible for boating.

Retreat and Camping Ministries was also blessed to see solid growth in both summer camp and retreat participation.  Retreats saw a 10% increase in user days from 2023, however, it still lags behind pre-pandemic levels.  Meanwhile, summer camp at Manidokan saw a 29% increase to 257 campers while West River saw a 12% increase to 1071 campers, which is an all-time record for the site.

2024 marked the 75th anniversary of the purchase of Manidokan and the birth of retreat and camping ministries in the conference.  The impact of this ministry can be felt through the generations.  In the camping office we frequently get calls and emails from past campers, volunteers, and staff asking if they can come by and visit the sites because camp made a difference in their lives they still remember decades later.

RCM played a key role in the relaunch of a large-scale, area-wide youth retreat in Ocean City with IGNITE in March of 2025.

By the End of 2025:  Manidokan and West River will be focusing on maintenance tracking and efficiency by implementing a CMMS system.  Summer camp registrations are off to a strong start and we hope to surpass 2019 summer camp participation.

Respectfully submitted by
Chris Schlieckert, Director

Campus Ministry Task Force

One of the Young People's Ministry goals from the 2018 Strategic Plan was to expand the impact and places of campus ministry. We have seen spiritual and numeric growth this year. In 2024, the Baltimore-Washington Conference expanded its campus ministry footprint from five campuses to seven and from two districts to four. Two of those settings are more traditional with full-time chaplains (Howard University and Frostburg State). The other six are served by part-time ministry coordinators and student interns, two of whom began in the fall of 2024. In all we have 500 students in our collective campus contact databases,  400 students engaged, 113 committed (attending two or more events per month in our established ministries) and 17 student leaders.

BWCs United Methodist campus ministries are experiencing a season of foundation-building, relational growth, and creative outreach.

Goals:
Across campuses, ministries aimed to deepen student engagement, build interfaith and community partnerships, and establish or strengthen official campus ministry organizations. Specific focuses included student leadership development, faith-based conversations on justice and belonging, and collaborative campus events.

Impact:
These ministries collectively fostered safe, inclusive spaces for students to explore faith, identity, and justice. Common threads include growing student-led initiatives, increased partnerships with campus offices and other faith groups, and hands-on mission work — like Frostburg’s hurricane relief kits and Ignite Conference involvement. Ministries like the Terp HUB and Bulldog HUB emphasized community gatherings, while American University’s Wesley Foundation has nurtured meaningful relationships with diverse faith communities, embodying radical welcome and leadership formation. Howard University’s Wesley Foundation continues to build on its long history, offering students a space to claim their faith identity, pursue justice, and cultivate beloved community.

By the End of 2025:
While newer ministries seek to formalize student organizations, others are engaged in broadening interfaith partnerships, strengthening leadership pipelines, and creating missional opportunities that embody Christ’s love in tangible, justice-rooted ways on and beyond campus.

Respectfully submitted by
Rev. Michael Armstrong, Campus Ministry Task Force Chair

American University Methodist Community

2024 Goals:
Our goals were to deepen connections within student life and religious life at the Kay Spiritual Life Center and cultivate student leadership rooted in faith and service.

Impact:
This year, we’ve seen meaningful growth as students actively articulated and lived out their faith within the campus community. Through partnerships with people of various faiths and backgrounds, our students participated in dialogues, built relationships, and created inclusive spaces where everyone is seen in God’s kingdom. Their faith has expanded beyond personal belief into community action, demonstrating the power of connectionalism and collaborative ministry.

By the End of 2025:
We aim to strengthen partnerships with other campus ministries, engage in mission work, and foster intercultural dialogue beyond the campus borders. Our commitment is to ensure every person has a place at the table, reflecting God’s inclusive love through leadership, service, and connection.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Rachel Livingston, Associate Pastor at National UMC

The Bear HUB at Morgan State University

2024 Goals:
Our goal was to establish Bear HUB as a recognized student ministry, build campus partnerships, and engage students through events and gatherings. Progress includes connecting with Dr. Arthur Hill for strategic partnerships and meeting Dr. Woodroffe from Community Services, who directed me to Student Life contacts. Three committed students met with me in February, applied as interns, and agreed to meet monthly.

Impact:
Though formal recognition remains a challenge, small but meaningful connections have formed. Students participated in a homecoming meet-and-greet with Zeta Sigma, a movie night at Eastern UMC, and dorm move-out support. These efforts fostered belonging and campus presence.

By the End of 2025:
We aim to build partnerships with Greek organizations, grow our student network, host regular gatherings, and move toward becoming an official student organization, creating a consistent faith community for Morgan State students.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Michael Carrington, Bear HUB Coordinator

 The Bulldog Hub at Bowie State University

2024 Goals:
Our goals were to officially launch The Bulldog Hub, build a consistent student community, and begin the process of becoming a recognized student organization. We aimed to create a welcoming space for prayer, Bible study, and spiritual dialogue. This year, we gathered three dedicated student participants and established partnerships with the Bowie State Concert Choir and Greek organizations.

Impact:
The Bulldog Hub has become a safe, Christ-centered space for students to connect, pray, and grow spiritually. Through intentional listening and relationship-building, we’ve built trust and gained valuable insight into the needs of the campus community. Our collaboration with the Concert Choir and early conversations with Greek organizations have laid the groundwork for future outreach.  To date, we are in contact with 22 students,  eight students are engaged, and four of these students are leading.

By the End of 2025:
We aim to complete the student organization process, expand our leadership team, and increase student participation — offering transformative opportunities for faith, service, and justice on campus.

Respectfully submitted by:
Pastor Bresean Jenkins, Bulldog HUB Coordinator

The Terp HUB at University of Maryland College Park

Goals:
In 2024, our goals at The Terp HUB were to create a welcoming space for students to gather, share, and grow in faith, while addressing real-life questions and experiences. We aimed to build weekly gatherings and deepen partnerships, particularly with LGBTQ+ students and other campus ministries.

Impact:
Our ministry formed a nurturing, student-centered community where diverse students found friendship, prayer support, and spiritual reflection. Weekly Wednesday gatherings offered conversations about love, faith, and life’s persistent questions. A long-hoped-for dinner series became a safe space for students to share and seek God together. In partnership with other ministries and the LGBTQ+ Equity Center, we relaunched a Christian LGBTQ+ group, offering affirmation and belonging for historically marginalized students. Together, these spaces have helped students encounter God’s love, deepen relationships, and form faith-rooted community. We celebrate the 85 students who are engaged,  the 13 committed students(attending two or more events per month in our established ministries) and the four student leaders.

By the End of 2025:

We seek to expand student leadership, deepen partnerships, and grow participation—creating a faith-filled, justice-centered, inclusive community that continues to lift, challenge, and inspire students together. We also hope to have received our confirmation as a Registered Student Organization through UMD’s Stamp Union.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Will Newton, Terp HUB Coordinator

The Tiger HUB at Towson University

2024 Goals:
Our goals were to complete the process to become an official student organization, identify an executive board, secure an on-campus advisor, hire two student interns, and increase student engagement through tabling and campus events. Progress includes hosting a December tabling event where 15 new students expressed interest and scheduling a February 2025 meet-up to elect leadership and finalize our constitution.

Impact:
We reintroduced the Tiger HUB to students, reconnecting with 55 potential members. Conversations revealed preferred communication methods and opened collaboration opportunities. Tabling events and outreach began rebuilding visibility and laying the foundation for a vibrant student-led faith community.

By the End of 2025:
We aim to achieve official student organization status, host regular worship and fellowship events, hire student interns, and collaborate with other student groups, becoming a fully recognized and engaged presence within Towson’s campus ministry network.

Respectfully submitted by:
Pastor Natiya Bennett, Associate Pastor, Towson UMC

United Campus Ministry at Frostburg State University

Goals:

In 2024, our goals at Frostburg State University were to build meaningful partnerships with local congregations and organizations, foster spaces for community dialogue, and engage students in hands-on mission work. We made significant progress through collaborations with the Western Maryland Union Mission Center, the Vail Lions, local businesses, and campus faculty and staff.

Impact:

Our mission impact was seen through the Call to Community series, where students, faculty, and staff gathered weekly to discuss campus needs, justice, and belonging. This began by addressing things like our First Amendment rights and what that means for students, in light of a very tumultuous political season and unfortunately, consistent visits from controversial groups. Students also embodied servant leadership by volunteering at the IGNITE Conference and assembling 250 hygiene kits and 100 relief buckets for Hurricane Milton survivors with UMCOR. These efforts fostered discipleship, compassion, and unity in both campus and surrounding communities. We are engaging 150 students, 15 of whom attend at least two events a month, most of whom also serve in leadership roles.

By the end of 2025:

We aim to deepen interfaith partnerships and expand our leadership development and mission opportunities.

Respectfully submitted by:
Pastor Elijah Ferebee, Frostburg State University Chaplain

The Wesley Foundation at Howard University

2024 Goals:
We aimed to foster spiritual growth, deepen discipleship, and expand student engagement through weekly gatherings and service opportunities. We made strong progress, especially through our Wednesday night Bible studies that foster spaces for authentic faith conversations and personal transformation, engaging an average of more than 40 students each week. We have contact information for 375 students and have engaged 130 students through our ministry.

Impact:
We witnessed spiritual transformation as students engaged vulnerably with their faith, supported by a culture of holy questioning and communal accountability. Our partnership with Mount Zion UMC in Georgetown opened doors for students to serve the community, demonstrating Christ’s love in tangible ways. We also saw God’s grace at work in the lives of three students who were baptized in April.

By the End of 2025:
We seek to expand our outreach, strengthen discipleship pathways, and deepen community partnerships — continuing to create a courageous, Holy Spirit-led space where students grow in faith, serve others, and become leaders who transform the world.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Jacob Cogman, United Methodist Chaplain

Commission on Archives & History & BWC Historical Society Joint Report

Purpose: to preserve and maintain closed church records, historical documents, and stories of the Church from the past for current and future generations.

2024 Goals and Impact: Archives & History and the Baltimore-Washington Conference Historical Society have been expanding our impact to be felt around the Annual Conference and the denomination.

This year, we handled over 265 research requests that came in via email, phone, mail, the conference website, and even Facebook! This is a 26 percent increase over last year. We continue to support other ministry areas with providing research services and historical information.

We provide services to local churches that are celebrating their anniversaries through resources, research, and guest speakers. Other services provided include workshops on historical preservation and document management. Please contact us for more information.

The Commission on Archives and History has resumed quarterly meetings, and is trying to increase membership and engagement as we prepare for the 250th anniversary of the nation next year, which coincides with the 300th Anniversary of Bishop Otterbein’s birth. We are already planning a denomination-wide celebration for the first Sunday in June, 2026.

Archives

The archives continue to grow in size and value. We work closely with the Conference Trustees to secure records from closed churches, processed those records, and filed them for archival storage. We continue to process disaffiliated church records.

We are in the process of finding ways to capture “born digital” records, and hope to have an update by the next Annual Conference Session. We are also preparing to create digital access to a portion of the very popular “clergy card catalog.”

In the meantime, please update your local church history (we have resources for this if you need help), and send that, along with other records (such as anniversary programs, copies of deeds or important papers, etc.) to the archives. Today’s events are tomorrow’s history. Our staff is happy to consult with you on what is important to save or send.

We have conducted several workshops for districts and local churches on archival needs, practices, and museum displays. We’d love to work with your hub, cluster, district, or local church! Please let us know how we can help.

Museum

The Lovely Lane Museum’s day-to-day operations, including dusting, displays, interpretation, and content selection is cared for by staff. However, the collection itself belongs to the Baltimore-Washington Conference Historical Society. Working together, the staff and the historical society collaborated for a major quilt show and lecture this year. The Quilt show generated funds for the management and preservation of the quilts. We have 19 quilts in our collection, including 4 Baltimore Album Quilts and a quilt that came over on the Mayflower. Those 5 were available for the group to examine closely. In this process, we’ve also re-established a relationship with the local quilting guilds for the yearly refolding of the quilts.

Additionally, with the assistance of funds donated for museum improvements and the Lovely Lane UMC Trustees, we were able to install hanging systems for our large collection of church plates. These will be available for viewing soon.

Library

Our library on Methodist and Baltimore history has over 7,000 volumes. Many of these are primary sources. We continue to add volumes to it, and this year’s additions include expanded content on EUB history and Black Methodism. This library is available for research by appointment, and is not a lending library.

Pilgrimages

Our third annual Pilgrimage Week received rave reviews! Our group of pilgrims followed in the steps of Laity and looked at Methodism through the eyes of Robert Strawbridge.

Join us on Saturday, June 7 for our next Pilgrimage as we explore Washington Conference sites in Baltimore. The Washington Conference was the historically Black conference in this area. We depart from and return to Lovely Lane UMC.

Our mini-pilgrimages (formerly called tours) are available at most of our sites on a regular basis. Those who come are always impressed by our collection and the knowledge of the guides. Archives & History can arrange this for you through any of our sites, or even help you customize your own mini-pilgrimage for any age group.

Our Confirmation Pilgrimages are very popular! These Pilgrimages typically last 3-4 hours and cover multiple Baltimore-area sites. Be sure to make us a stop in your next class! These dates are typically set several months in advance to accommodate all the needs.

By the End of 2025 and Beyond:

We have new interns who are helping us to achieve several goals that we were unable to meet on our own due to time constraints, including creating “touch boxes” for our youngest visitors to engage with the displays in a meaningful way; transcriptions of documents; and handouts for visitors. We are also preparing to launch a “Junior Circuit Rider” program at select sites.

We are still working to upgrade the lighting in the museum from fluorescent lights that can degrade artifacts over time to museum-style LEDs.

These are just a few highlights of the amazing work our staff and volunteers do on a regular basis. Please come visit for a mini-pilgrimage (tour), conduct research, or simply to learn more about who we are and where we come from. This history is your history.  Also, please consider volunteering in the archives, or as a docent (tour guide). You are always welcome. Thank you for the honor of serving you.

Respectfully submitted by:
Rev. Dr. Bonnie McCubbin, Director of Museums & Pilgrimage/Conference Archivist
Rev. Dr. Emora T. Brannan, Conference Historian, President of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Historical Society, President of the Conference Commission on Archives & History