Gillian Sloan is a Global Missionary of The United Methodist Church, serving as INSPIRE general manager in Chemnitz, Germany. She earned a diploma/certificate in religious studies at Emmanuel Bible College in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Her most recent employment was as a mission partner with the British Methodist Church. Prior to that, Gillian was a clerical officer with Northern Ireland Civil Service. A member of EMK Friedenskirche (Peace Church) in Kassberg, part of the Germany East Annual Conference, Gillian grew up in the Methodist Church in Ireland, where she was actively involved in her local congregation. As a young woman, she knew God expected more from her. “I was able to take a career break from my job,” she said, “which I used to study theology and mission. I completed the Cambridge University Diploma of Religious Studies. Emmanuel Bible College was world mission orientated with its own annual missionary convention. We had guest lectures from missionaries and former missionaries from all over the world. I was introduced to a worldwide church and to many individuals who had served or were serving with different missionary organizations across the globe. “I was inspired through their lives but also challenged personally,” Gillian continued. “The principal of the college, along with most of our lecturers, had all served in different countries and circumstances. I know that many of my conversations with them helped to motivate me and challenge me to test my calling to serve God overseas.” She led children’s and women’s ministries in a local congregation in Northern Ireland where her husband, Barry, was the pastor. “We were very happy,” she said, “but could not ignore this sense of being called to serve overseas, particularly in eastern Europe.” They applied to become Mission Partners with the Methodist church in Ireland. They went through a four-month candidacy process consisting of interviews, psychological tests and medical examinations. They were accepted to serve with The United Methodist Church in Chemnitz in eastern Germany. “God led us to a ministry in Chemnitz city, in the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany),” Gillian said. “Chemnitz, where 90% of the inhabitants have an atheist background, was a whole new world for our small family of four. We moved to a new country, a new culture, a new church (The United Methodist Church), and learned a new language. My interest in languages and in getting to know new cultures stood me in good stead. I learned German pretty quickly – but not as quickly as my kids!” Gillian and Barry engaged in an innovative, three-circuit ministry for 13 years. That experience, she said, “prepared the way for when God called us into a new pioneer ministry, A Fresh Expression of Church called INSPIRE, in downtown Chemnitz. “I have been involved in mission since I was a teenager,” Gillian said. “I have been serving in overseas mission for the last 25 years. And I am still learning! Mission is always about partnership with those around you and with God. This has always excited me. My husband and I have always worked as a team in ministry and mission, each with our own gifts that complement each other.” INSPIRE is carrying out an innovative ministry in a post-Christian context. The East German Annual Conference recognizes a need for pioneer ministries that do mission in a new reality. The conference sees INSPIRE as a kind of “teaching church.” Through its social, cultural and diaconal outreach ministries, INSPIRE is finding creative and innovative ways to serve and to connect and share God’s love with people who have no connection to church. Incarnational, contextual mission is part of INSPIRE´s DNA. It meets people where they are and on their terms. Reconciliation is at the heart of INSPIRE. “Sharing my faith and my life with the people of Chemnitz,” Gillian said, “has been one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of my spiritual journey. A church that does not engage in mission cannot truly be church. Mission is for me a church of ‘sent ones.’ We are a world church. One world. We need each other. In a world that is becoming in some ways increasingly isolationist, insular and exclusionary, it is vital that our churches have an outward focus.”

Kimberly Lynn “Kim” Lewis is a Global Missionary for The United Methodist Church, serving as co-director of Arbol de Vida Training Center at Give Ye Them to Eat in Puebla, Mexico. An NGO organized by the Methodist Church of Mexico, its mission is to strengthen the capabilities of marginalized people and communities to meet their basic needs, and to determine and sustain a just and integrated development process so people can achieve the full promise and potential of their life as children of God. Striving to be a voice for marginalized communities, Kim relies on 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV): “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” After earning a master’s degree in business from Pepperdine University in California, Kim served a three-decade career in the nonprofit sector, most recently as CEO of United Way of Yellowstone County. “My career has been guided by God, devoted to philanthropy and giving back to my community,” she said. “I have advocated, raised funds and connected resources to help alleviate suffering, empower youth, provide leadership opportunities, create safe environments, and deliver hope for medically fragile children and their families.” Describing her spiritual and professional journey, Kim said, “I once heard someone say that communities need a host of angelic troublemakers to pursue love, peace and justice. While I can’t change the world alone, I can contribute in a positive way.” When Kim met Patrick Lewis, her husband of 20 years, he told her he was going to be governor of Wyoming or a pastor. “Both felt so foreign to me that I didn’t believe him,” Kim said. “Two years into our marriage, Pat shared his calling for ministry with me, and within three months, we had moved from Phoenix to Denver for him to start theology school. During that time, God’s plan was very clear for both of us: love and serve all. In lieu of wedding gifts, we chose donations to help build a Habitat house. It was such a fun way to celebrate our marriage!” Her husband is an ordained United Methodist elder. Kim said, “I have been inspired by him, his colleagues and fellow parishioners with the commitment to serve Christ in everything they do. I became a deaconess with the UMC in May 2022.” She is a lay member from First United Methodist Church, Billings, Montana, related to the Mountain Sky Annual Conference. Asked about her faith journey, Kim replied, “I find great pleasure in being the hands and feet of Jesus. For example, I have built homes in Tijuana with Corazon and in the USA with Habitat for Humanity. I am a self-published author of ‘They’ve Always Been Nice to Me,’ a tribute to my Uncle Randy who is intellectually challenged, has cerebral palsy and lives a meaningful life. We also fostered eight children over 13 years, serving orphans with unconditional love.” When her first husband died unexpectedly, Kim’s faith was challenged. “I was mad at God, yet still trusted my journey,” she said. “Today I feel a call to love and support other young widows.” Kim is the bonus mom to twin daughters and her greatest joys are her grandsons and fur babies. She is excited for her missionary call. “I can think of no better way to round out my career in philanthropy,” she said, “than by serving in partnership with my husband in Mexico. “I have been discerning this call since I was a young adult, but wasn’t sure when the moment would present itself to serve as a global missionary,” she said. “I am excited to practice new ways of serving God in a different culture. I trust that God will lead me where I need to be to help others and to use my gifts of service to show people that God is alive and real.”