Welcome to our website!! We are hope-filled, joy-filled, Spirit-filled and excited for what the Holy Spirit is doing and will do in this season of ministry. You are invited to join us in this journey of faith by checking out the resources and upcoming events for the global WCA as well as this regional chapter of the WCA here in Western Pennsylvania. Reach out anytime with any questions you may have. May we embrace the ideal of John Wesley when he said, “I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God’s creational intentions.”
The Allegheny West Provisional Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church came online officially on April 1, 2023. This new Conference serves all of Ohio and the Western third of Pennsylvania. As a Conference of the Global Methodist Church, its purpose is to connect clergy and laypeople in this region for shared ministry and accountability. They are here to share knowledge and assist local churches, and to equip ministries and support the planting of new churches. Check out their website here:
Reviving Wesleyan Methodism in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania
Register Now – May 20, 2023
As we have the past few years, the WCA of Western Pennsylvania is hosting regional gatherings on May 20th. Additional details are available by clicking here.
10:00 am to Noon Lakeside UMC in DuBois
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Charter Oak UMC in Greensburg
REGISTER ONLINE for May 20th gathering
Reflections on Beyond These Walls
Beyond These Walls Conference was held April 27-29, 2023, and drew over 600 participants from the United States and around the world to the campus of The Woodlands Methodist Church in the Houston, Texas area. The over-arching theme of these few days of conferencing was to “take the church outside the four walls!” With inspiring speakers, workshops on evangelism, discipleship, church planting and gospel-centered community development led by amazing leaders from all over the world, it was an incredible and motivating experience. Take a moment and hear from two participants from Western Pennsylvania – Rev. Randy Bain and Rev. Brett Dinger – as they share their own perspective on this event.
From Rev. Randy Bain:
I was blessed to be able to attend Beyond the Walls conference at the Woodlands Methodist Church near Houston, TX. The conference was put on by the Missions Ministries of the Woodlands Church with many other sponsors. The twenty plus sponsors included the Global Methodist Church, World Gospel Mission, United Theological Seminary, Asbury Theological Seminary, the Wesleyan Covenant Association, and One Mission Society.
The worship atmosphere at the conference felt very similar to the recent revival at Asbury University. My wife, Darlene, and I attended the Asbury revival the first Saturday when Hughes Auditorium was completely full, and worshippers gathered on the steps outside. The same feeling of the overwhelming love of God and Jesus-focused worship filled the Woodlands Church.
There was no mention of the ongoing disputes between the UMC, GMC, WCA, and disaffiliation. The focus was on Jesus and sharing the Good News with the world. The plenary speakers challenged and inspired each of us to be better witnesses and more in mission for the Lord. If this was a foretaste of what future Annual and General Conferences could look like, I’m all in.
I attended three breakout sessions with Kevin Watson of Making Disciples, Billy Coppedge on Scriptural Engagement and Disciple Making in a digital age, and Steve Cordle on Church Planting. Each session was inspiring and informative. Praise the Lord!
The Friday evening worship was exceptionally inspiring as we concluded with prayers of confession and surrender around the altar. I left the conference inspired, empowered, and more committed to reaching the unreached with the Good News of Jesus.
As Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35). I believe the best is yet to come. “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19). Bring it on, Lord, Jesus, Amen!
From Rev. Brett Dinger:
My recent experience at the Beyond These Walls conference, which offered a powerful glimpse into the vibrancy of the next Methodist movement, invited me to consider the habits of vital, growing churches who walk with God and enjoy His favor. These habits and dispositions are more than suggestions; they are the very foundations and expectations for churches who long to be everything God called them to be. If we want to be the church God continues to use for generations to come, we would do well to embrace the following Kingdom-minded positions.
First, Kingdom-minded churches are clear about one thing: the church is God’s and God’s alone. We hold ministries, teams, projects, visions and even our histories and traditions loosely because we are stewards, rather than owners, of God’s resources. We ask God to reveal His plans instead of simply hoping God will “baptize” and approve of ours.
Secondly, Kingdom-minded churches never sacrifice the Great Commission. Jesus is the author and “head” of the church (body of Christ), but He also defines and sets the mission. In Matthew 28, Jesus sends the disciples out to make more disciples. That’s it. That’s why the church exists. Kingdom-minded churches plan all their activity and focus by asking this question: Does this help us make disciples? If not, Kingdom-minded churches do some holy housecleaning.
Thirdly, Kingdom-minded churches are prayer-saturated churches. John Wesley once said, “God does nothing except in response to believing prayer,” and yet most churches find themselves too busy, too frantic, to cluttered, too inwardly focused to do the one thing that moves God’s heart to action—pray. “Prayerlessness,” says Daniel Henderson, “is our declaration of independence from God.” Whoa! I’m convicted!!!
Fourthly, Kingdom-minded churches are a light in a world of darkness. In other words, Kingdom-minded churches behave and believe differently in this world, even if it means standing out from the crowd. And when the “world” takes up a bit too much residence in our lives, Kingdom-minded churches are quick to confess and repent of sin, which is the fifth characteristic. “More like Christ and less like me” is a pretty good rule of thumb for those who want to be used by God.
Kingdom-minded churches are also Spirit-led churches. Kingdom-minded churches seek to be filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, governed by the Spirit, and sanctified by the Spirit. Without the Spirit, we have no power, no equipment, no passion, no desire to walk with Christ or to seek first His Kingdom. Without the Spirit, we are self-made, self-directed humans producing self-made, self-directed churches. But with the Spirit, we long to know and obey Christ and share His heart for the world. Churches, then, became about His desires, and not our own.
Finally, Kingdom-minded churches are infused with a passion to see Revelation 7:9-10 come to fruition. This passage speaks of a day when an uncountable multitude from every nation, tribe and language are standing before the throne of God and worshipping the Lord. God cares about our neighbors, our communities, and our backyards, but God also cares about “every nation, tribe and language.” We should be a people marked by God’s passion for the nations.
This is a critical juncture for many churches. God is ready to gift churches with new seasons of vitality and vibrancy if they are open to receive His grace and yield to His will. As Paul says, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” May we find new, sustained life by dying to ourselves and living in Him.
As you read through these reflections on Beyond These Walls, we at the WCA of Western Pennsylvania pray that you are inspired and ready for the next steps into which God is calling you as followers of Jesus and recipients of His Holy Spirit. Beyond These Walls was not just a one-off conference but rather is a movement of God – so mark your calendars now for the next Beyond These Walls:
AT THE WOODLANDS METHODIST CHURCH | 2200 LAKE WOODLANDS DRIVE
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS 77380
THURSDAY MAY 1 – SATURDAY MAY 3, 2025
The Holy Spirit is blowing afresh upon the people of God! Join us as we gather next week, May 20th, at Lakeside in DuBois and Charter Oak in Greensburg for worship, for prayer, for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, for inspiration, for fellowship, for communion as we hear from the Rev. Dr. Jeff Greenway, Pro Tempore of the Allegheny West Provisional Annual Conference. Let’s see what God chooses to do among His people here in Western Pennsylvania as we offer ourselves to Him in repentance and expectancy!
REGISTER ONLINE for May 20th gathering
Disaffiliation Timeline
Our desire as the Western PA Chapter of the WCA is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, seeking to be led by both the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Over the past several weeks, I have been praying a portion of Psalm 25 not only for myself and for our leadership, but for all of us in this challenging time in our denomination:
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. (4-5)
As churches and leaders discern where they believe God is leading them, we have sought to guide and come alongside them as we navigate these next steps together. We have a great team of leaders in our chapter as well as experts whom we have consulted who have developed a Disaffiliation Timeline to guide us in these next steps.
We shared this Disaffiliation Timeline with a host of leaders throughout our Annual Conference who are seeking more information as they navigate the next steps toward disaffiliation from the UMC. We are sharing this on our website believing that this document can guide churches across the theological spectrum as they discern their next steps.
Now, we are sharing this document with you, so open the attachment, collaborate with your leadership team, prayerfully discern your next steps, and reach out anytime for a WPA WCA coach to answer your questions and help you navigate the process. We continue to pray for churches and leaders throughout our Conference as we continue on this journey together.
Serving in Jesus’ name,
Rev. Laura Saufell
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