NEWS

General Conference 2012 Theme and Logo Selected

The Commission on the General Conference has selected  “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ to Transform the World” as the theme for The United Methodist Church’s 2012 General Conference, scheduled for April 24-May 4 in Tampa, Florida. 

The theme echoes the mission of The United Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world as a way of aligning the General Conference with the denomination’s central mission—so that the conference is not a one-time event, but a part of the ongoing ministry of the church. 

A committee of representatives from the Commission on the General Conference and the Council of Bishops was charged with making recommendations for a theme and logo to the full commission for approval.  Once a theme was selected, the United Methodist Publishing House’s design team developed logo proposals for consideration.  “We sensed that people across the church are longing for clarity about our mission, and we believed that the theme of the General Conference should reinforce and celebrate that mission,” said Jim Harnish, a member of the commission and chair of the committee. “We hope that the Spirit of God will use this theme to unite and energize our people to fulfill this mission and enable us to set clear priorities for the use of our resources.” 

The logo which complements the theme depicts a graphic image of the cross (representing the presence of Jesus Christ at the center of our mission) with circles extending from the cross (expressing energy and movement into ministry in the world) imposed against a bright sun and blue water (representing Tampa, Fla. as the conference site).  The imperative verbs “make” and “transform” underscore the urgency of the mission and call for active response.  The Commission also announced that the official General Conference 2012 website will be gc2012.umc.org.  The site is expected to be available by early fall. 

A graphic of the logo and more detailed interpretation of the theme is available online.