The Good News: Annual Conference Speakers Challenged Us With Calls for of Inclusion & Relational Work

Part 2 in a series of articles about 2025 Florida Annual Conference.

When Memorial members who attended Annual Conference were asked what moments had the most impact, many of them mentioned the dynamic guest speakers whose messages challenged those assembled. They wanted to make sure those messages were shared with you.

Rev. Dr. Rodrigo Cruz currently serves as the Assistant to the Bishop in the South and North Georgia Conferences. In 2016, he was moved to launch a multi-ethnic movement of faith called "The Nett Church", in Gwinnett County, Georgia (Where the "Nett" comes from). Nett grew to stand for: Nations to Experience Transformation in Jesus Together. Their goal was for the diversity of the church on Sunday mornings to reflect the diversity of the school systems from Monday through Friday. (Pastor Charlie mentioned The Nett Church in his sermon the Sunday after Annual Conference.)

Rev. Cruz led both a teaching session called "Vitality in the Multicultural Setting" and then also a Bible study. His experience, his call from God, and his message were something that had the whole Annual Conference engaged. One person commented, "I could have listened to him all afternoon!"

Rev. Dr. Rodrigo Cruz

“I cannot open to the thought of the idea that we die, somehow we'll be segregated in heaven. So if we don't believe that there will be segregation in heaven, why on earth do we have it while we’re alive?...In other words, if you cannot see God through somebody else's lenses, you will not be able to see the greatness of God. You'll only be able to see a fraction of who God is. You see, you cannot really comprehend God's care, value, and worth.”

- Rev. Dr. Rodrigo Cruz

Both of Rev. Cruz's sessions have been edited together and you can watch them HERE. You can also read a story from the Florida Conference on his sessions HERE.

The Conference was also led in a study by Rev. John Yambasu who is a graduate of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and serves as a supply pastor at Salem

United Methodist Church in Covington, Georgia. Yambasu is a certified candidate for the order of Elder in The United Methodist Church with the Georgia Annual Conference. He spoke about hearing the call from God and truly being a connectional, relational United Methodist Church and paralleled that to the words in Acts 2: 42-47 and brought a cross-cultural perspective to his Bible study, shaped by his experiences in West Africa and his upbringing in Sierra Leone. You can experience his Bible study HERE.

On the last day of Annual Conference, during the Service of Licensing, Commissioning, and Ordination, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, currently serving in the Virginia Conference, gave the message. "Bishop Sue", as many refer to her, is a Florida native and elected to the position of Bishop in 2016. Her message was a challenge to us all through the lens of the Annual Conference theme "Awaken to Grace". She told a touching story about an encounter with a homeless man at one of the churches where she served. He eventually became a staff person at her church and something he said one day made her see God's love or us all in a new way.

“I have learned something in ministry," Bishop Sue said. "If I have a choice of siding with the powerless, the hidden, the ridiculed, the mocked, or those who are ridiculing and mocking, if I want to find Jesus, I go by the one who's being ridiculed and mocked."

Bishop Sue spoke on Ezra 3:10-13 about the story of the exiles coming back to Jerusalem comparing some of what they experienced to what the church and our nation is experiencing. At times like this she says, "I've never felt like that it was so hard to be the church, but so important to be the church."

She also shared the vast progress and changes that have taken place in the Florida Conference during her life. And noted that nostalgia for the past is good as long as you don't let it stop you toward wonder for the future. She compared it to the idea of spending Christmas Eve reminiscing about the people who were not there anymore and ignored the children. She reminded the group that the work continues for our churches and our Conference to embrace new things and challenged us to remember that "we are all made in the image of God, and the church building forward has to acknowledge that and defend that with every ounce of its energy." You can watch her message HERE.