On May 19th, 2023, 457 delegates convened in the J. A. Culbreth Auditorium on the historic campus of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church North Carolina Conference in Falcon, North Carolina for their Quadrennial Conference Session.
The North Carolina Conference is considered the most influential conference in the United States today and their support of the IPHC’s mission and ministries is unprecedented.
In attendance at the Conference Session were many gifted leaders who have served and continue to serve the General Church in extraordinary ways. Among those recognized were Bishop Elwood Long, Bishop Jim Whitfield, Rev. Wiley Clark, Rev. John Hedgepeth, Rev. Marybelle Johnson, Rev. Janice Marshburn, Mrs. Linda Thomas, Rev. Bobby Forehand, Mr. George Wilson, Rev. Reggie Till, Dr. Ryan Jackson, Rev. Charles Boyd, Rev. Jon Oliver, Rev. Doug Bartlett, Rev. Raymond Potter, and Dr. Michael Stewart.
Pictured: Front Row: Mrs. Heather Hall, Rev. Mark Fields, Bishop Doug Bartlett, Rev. Ray Faircloth, Jr., Rev. Janice Marshburn. Back Row: Rev. Jonathan Altman, Assistant Superintendent-Rev. Dr. Ryan Jackson, Rev. Randy Hill
The Conference also welcomed and recognized representatives from our Educational and Benevolent Institutions including Emmanuel College President, Dr. Ron White; Holmes Bible College Dean of Students, Rev. Bruce Hagee; and Falcon Children’s Home Chief Operating Officer, Rev. Patrick Womack.
Also among those in attendance were various members of IPHC’s missionary family–treasured gifts to our Church.
Conference Superintendent, Bishop Danny Nelson, delivered his final State of the Conference Report with passion and vision for its future. Bishop Nelson has served as the Conference Superintendent of the North Carolina Conference for the past eight years and chose to retire from the conference position. Following the conclusion of his report the Conference honored Bishop Nelson with a standing expression of appreciation. Later in the Conference, the newly elected Conference Superintendent, Bishop Doug Bartlett, announced the Conference will be honoring Bishop Danny and Rose Nelson in their upcoming Campmeeting at the Sunday night service.
Clergy Credentials were issued/approved as follows:
Certificate of Ordination (8) – Rev. Edward Lee Britt, Rev. Chad Graham, Rev. Casey Groover, Rev. Elizabeth Hawley, Rev. Juan Carlos Jimenez, Rev. Angel Johnson-Register, Rev. Joshua Alan Long and Rev. Marie Cleopatra [Cleo] Veliz.
Minister’s License (15) – Rev. Daniel Cleveland Brown, Rev. Ronnie Ray Casper, Rev. Tamara Grady, Rev. Jose Libardo Gutierrez, Rev. Morgan Johnson, Rev. Daniel Lee Lewis, Rev. Ruth Medina Rivera, Rev. Samuel Rodriquez, Rev. Efrain Arroyo Rosado, Rev. Jenny ‘Carolina’ Rueda Montealegre, Rev. Robert Roy Sealey, Sr., Rev. David Paul Shankle, Rev. Justin Spell, Rev. Kristen Spell, and Rev. Shauna Treadway.
Local Church Minister’s License [15] – Rev. Katie Alford, Rev. Anna Altman, Rev. Noemi Arroyo, Rev. Wendy Campanaro, Rev. Dana Colwell, Rev. Daniel Colwell, Rev. Ivan Fernandez-Diaz, Rev. Glenn Howell, Rev. Jesús Jaimes, Rev. Boyd Lindsey, Jr., Rev. Melissa Ann Locklear, Rev. Anais Valentine Meléndez, Rev. Earl Monds, Rev. Caleb Mooring, and Rev. Teresa Smith.
Mrs. Linda Thomas led the Conference in memorializing and honoring the lives and ministry legacies of the following Conference ministers and spouses in the Memoirs Report:
- Mary “Joyce” Stanley Wyatt
- Gary Gene Jones
- Dr. Lyndel Carl Barnes
- Merrill Lawton Davis
- Annie Lee Bryant Horne
- Charles Cooper Woodard, Jr.
- Iredell C. “I.C.” Wyatt
- Edna Paul Cordon
- Lula Tudor Britton
- Helen Louise Ludlum Warwick
- Christopher Darryl Rooks
Rev. Doug Bartlett’s nomination as Conference Superintendent was unopposed and he was declared elected unanimously by acclamation. The remainder of the 9-member Conference Executive Council was elected as follows: Dr. Ryan Jackson as Assistant Conference Superintendent, Heather Hall (1-Lay Professional), Rev. Janice Marshburn, Rev. Jonathan Altman, Rev. Mark Fields, Rev. Randy Hill, Rev. Ray Faircloth, Jr., and Rev. Kevin Robinson (6-Members at Large).
On the General Conference-mandated ‘majority vote’ to determine the North Carolina Conference’s desire regarding term limits for all Conference Executive Council members, the vote was 331 in favor of retaining term limits and 100 votes opposing term limits.
In another business-related matter, the Conference sustained the Bylaws Committee’s recommendation that nominees for the office of Conference Superintendent and Assistant Conference Superintendent have “at least 5 years of experience as a senior pastor” by a vote of 276 to 166.
I was honored to serve this part of our faith family.
Believing that the ‘best is still to come’ for the North Carolina Conference.
