From church planting at home to strengthening mission partnerships abroad, the Free Methodist Church in the U.K. and Ireland is entering an exciting new season of growth, collaboration and global engagement.

For many years, the U.K./Ireland Conference has been actively engaged in global mission. During the 2026 annual conference, the newly formed Mission Partners Team celebrated the encouraging growth of emerging and established churches made up of people from many nations and cultures. This commitment to welcoming and valuing diverse communities has brought new vitality to the conference, strengthening the Free Methodist family as churches grow and serve together.

As the conference pursues its vision of planting and growing 100 churches by 2034 through developing and equipping new church-planting teams, leaders also encouraged every church to deepen its engagement with global mission, particularly through partnership with Free Methodist World Missions (FMWM).

To support this vision, a new course launching this autumn will deepen leaders’ understanding of the theology of mission and the principles of building effective mission partnerships. The course will be required for all conference ministerial candidates and available to local church mission leaders. Its aim is to cultivate a lasting passion for global mission that shapes both pastoral ministry and church life.

The Mission Partners Team is also partnering with Gerry Coates, director of global engagement, and the FMWM team to provide training for leading fruitful short-term mission trips. FMWM leaders will equip a new U.K.-based team to continue this training in the future. Please pray that as God stirs hearts for mission, this training will inspire and equip new teams to build partnerships that extend far beyond a single trip, creating lasting relationships where leaders and churches learn from one another across cultures.

Adding to this momentum, Pastor Michael Bretton, a member of the National Mission Partners Team, has been appointed to the European Resource Team. In this role, he will help strengthen connections between U.K. churches and ministry opportunities across Europe, opening doors for future partnerships and collaborative mission efforts.

The opportunities emerging from this year’s annual conference to encourage and equip pastors, leaders, and short-term mission teams are both exciting and significant. As the U.K./Ireland Conference continues pursuing its vision for church planting at home while embracing a growing role in global mission, God is opening the door to a promising new season of partnership, ministry and kingdom impact. The vision is not simply to grow churches, but to see churches become active participants in God’s mission to the world.