Whitley Henson's Reflections on The Gathering 2026

November 04, 2026

Making Room for the Next Generation

Whitley Henson, Young Adult, Lay Person, CAMC

The number one thing I am taking away from the Leadership Gathering is that we cannot simply talk about the church we hope to become; we must be willing to do the work to make it happen.

I attended the Leadership Gathering as a young adult from Southeast Kentucky, representing the Central Appalachian Missionary Conference. I carried with me my hopes, prayers and questions for the church and its future. I also brought the prayers, hopes and dreams of my Conference and the young adults I work alongside of. I came home challenged and encouraged. What gave me hope was witnessing perspectives from different cultures and generations. Young adults, laypeople, clergy, and bishops had the opportunity to share about the church we are living in today and the church we hope to become. I come from a place where community matters. Growing up in the mountains, people show up for each other. I have witnessed the church be a place of belonging, hope and transformation. I have also personally wrestled with all the ways we as the church can sometimes fall short of the very Gospel we proclaim.

 During the Leadership Gathering in Calgary, I was reminded that the future of the church is not what we say we believe, it is how we model and live out our belief. In Calgary, we spent time naming realities that are uncomfortable but necessary to acknowledge. The main reality we discussed was that while all churches say that they want young people to be involved, there is little opportunity for young people to shape the church. We also looked at other realities facing the United Methodist Church and churches around the world. These conversations were intentional and meaningful, however difficult. They challenged all of us to view the distance between who we claim to be and who we truly are.

As a young adult, staff at a conference level, and as a member of extended cabinet, a question I am carrying as I discern my role in the church is: How can we tell the upcoming generations that they belong in the church if we are unwilling to let them help shape it?

Younger generations have always been told they are the future of the church, yet we are the church right now. This statement of being the future means that we cannot be the present. In other words, we need to wait our turn before we are allowed to affect actual change.

Young adults are already in the church. We are serving congregations, leading ministries, discerning our callings, caring for our communities and trying to figure out what faithful discipleship looks like in a complex world. We are not waiting for permission to care for the church. We already care. This is why we are here.

Yet too often, young adults are invited to share but not always invited to make decisions. Representation without the ability to change systems is tokenism. We are invited into the places where changes are made, but we are told to participate and lead in the same way older generations have led. We are told our thoughts and our opinions are important. We are earnestly listened to by our leaders. Then we are expected to fit into the boxes that have been long established within the institutional church. 

For the United Methodist Church to survive and thrive over the next decade and beyond, we must become less concerned with maintaining the status quo and protecting the institution of the Church. We must instead focus ourselves on disciple-making. This means that we must look beyond our larger churches and beyond the city limits into the rural areas and work with people that are often forgotten in those areas. We have focused on cities and large churches for years, but these are not the only places that discipleship happens. 

The UMC must be a church for all people. Today many churches are in rich, white areas. These people are important to God. However, we must work to extend the church beyond these areas. Authentic Church goes to the people. The world around us is in pain. There are those who cannot afford quality food, those with no access to clean water, and people who live in fear of violence. These are the places that the church must go. Not just to visit, but to change. Not just as short-term mission teams, but to work to change the systems of oppression that have long held down people in inner cities and rural country sides. Around the world the UMC must become a force that resists oppression and fights injustice.

There was something special about being a participant in the room with United Methodists from around the world. Everyone brought their different experiences and perspectives to the same conversations. We weren’t there to vote on legislation or discuss resolutions. We were there to discern, listen, and dream of what might be possible for the future of our church. I left the Leadership Gathering thinking about how we need more spaces like this across our connection. We cannot expect the church to flourish and move forward if we aren’t willing to sit together, listen to one another, and learn from different perspectives. One of the takeaways I received from multiple speakers was from Rev. Tyler Sit. They told us that courageous leadership does not always mean breaking down doors. Instead, they said "Show me the right door. I am still coming" This spoke to my heart, as someone who was raised in Appalachia. 

Growing up in an area where we have to work to break through barriers, while not pushing too hard against the cultural traditions, and still forcing change to happen; I am reminded by Rev. Sit’s message that courageous leadership isn’t about forcing your way through that “door” but simply allowing God to work through what we have in our ministry. It’s discerning what doors God has opened for us to move through. In Appalachia, as well as within the United Methodist Church, we must learn how to honor and uphold our traditions while also being courageous enough to dream differently about the future church. Although this is challenging, it doesn't require complete destruction. There is no need to tear down everything that has led us to where we are. Instead, we must be able to take what works into a new future. As a young adult I have no desire to destroy what has been built, but I deeply want to see a church that does more than what is being done right now.

I was grateful for the chance to represent my area and young adults. However, my heart hurts for the voices that were not at the table. There were few people from rural settings. There were no youth or children at the event. While this was a great step in the right direction, there is still so much work to do. The Leadership Gathering was a place of privilege. To be here was to be selected by a bishop as a leader. Those who have spent their time toiling away in rural and impoverished areas are often overlooked because their ministry gathers little attention. The UMC gives a lot of lip service to inclusion, but part of inclusion means recognizing what voices are not at the table. It also means that we must be willing to change the work that we are doing based on what we hear and what we encounter. 

The future of The United Methodist Church will not be shaped by this single event. It will be shaped by what we do next with what we have learned and shared, by the way that we live with those around us, and by the voices that we choose to listen to in the upcoming years. As someone who loves my Church and believes in the ministry happening in the UMC, especially here in Central Appalachia, I want to continue to be part of that work.

Bishop Saenz told us about the way that a very small amount of yeast permeated a large amount of flour. In my accountability group we talked about how this is true, but it is not something that happens quickly. Instead, it takes time to be done. According to one of my group participants, we are the flour in the parable from Matthew 13. We are leavened and lifted by God into something that is much more than we could possibly imagine. The flour also represents the church. As we allow God to move within the church, the church grows and changes, becoming something more than it ever has been. This requires time, patience, and space to be different, to try new things, and to fail forward as we learn.

We do not have to know everything or have all the information before we can take the next faithful step, but we do have to be willing to take that step. So, what is that next step? I do not know. Even after attending this gathering, I do not have specific answers. But I know that we must be willing to take the Gospel with us everywhere we go. We must be willing to set aside our selfishness and be willing to learn from others. We must be willing to allow ourselves and the church to be changed.