2025 Year In Review

Rev. Joseph in Tanzania

Friends,
Another year has flown by, and we have many stories to share. 

Our team began the year continuing the work of their respective ministry appointments. 

In March, Rev. Dr. Taylor Denyer—wearing her UM Studies lecturer hat—and Rev. Joseph Mulongo—in his role of Director of Connectional Ministries (DCM) for the episcopal area—traveled to Tanzania to co-lead a leadership development training for UMC leaders across the country. 
 
Much of Spring 2025 was dominated by preparations for the UMC’s Mid-Africa Central Conference that was postponed until June due to political violence in eastern DR Congo and relocated to Kitwe, Zambia. This historic gathering—which included the creation of a new episcopal area, new conferences, and the election of three new bishops—took us through a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from tears of joy (first clergywoman elected bishop in our central conference!) to deep disappointment, reminding us how far we still must go to build a church that models Christ’s teachings. Throughout it all, the FPM family remained there for each other and renewed our commitment to being voices of integrity and faithful friends to the marginalized.

Bishop Mande’s role as chair of the UMC’s Africa College of Bishops has meant that Taylor, as his Exec Assistant, also has expanded duties. In July, she traveled to Africa University (Zimbabwe) for a gathering of UMC bishops and other key leaders across Africa to discuss the state of the denomination, address training gaps, and make strategic plans for the future.

Joseph’s responsibilities dramatically increased in 2025, as the members of the newly formed Upemba Annual Conference elected him in a landslide as the conference’s Legal Representative. This means that he is officially in charge of leading the conference in the bishop’s absence and speaking/acting on its behalf. This includes regularly traveling around the conference, providing oversight for all church initiatives. (Note that this is an unpaid position) Joseph was also appointed chair of their Board of Ordained Ministries in addition to continuing serving as area DCM.   

In other big news, FPM member Rev. Shabana Banza (those who read Biking Bob’s books would remember him as his young interpreter) and family have just moved to Mwanza, Tanzania, as Shabana is the new Principal of Wesley College, the only United Methodist college in the country. He has also just been accepted in the PhD in Missiology program at Stellenbosch University (South Africa), which he will be able to do from Tanzania, with occasional intensive periods on their campus.  

FPM Funds at Work
As you can see, the friendships formed and leadership skills developed in the early years of FPM are having an impact far beyond the scope of FPM-funded programs. In fact, most of the funds FPM family members raise are going through alternative pathways (among other things, this reduces our admin work), but we still very much welcome funds sent to FPM’s bank account—especially undesignated funds, as those give us the gift of rapid respond in times of crisis and the ability to fill in the gaps when a received grant or scholarship wasn’t sufficient for success. The funds you send directly to FPM or via the Indiana Conference Advance system help with scholarships, emergency medical care, transportation, and school/clinic/church/water well construction efforts.        

Since FPM’s inception, a portion of our funds have also gone to support the youth being raised at the UMC Children’s Home in Kamina. Taylor, Shabana, and Rev. Mumba—who is appointed as conference treasurer based in Kamina—know these young adults by name and have witnessed their transition from childhood into adulthood. With another wave of community college graduations in 2025, we are nearly empty-nesters! Even the “baby” of the house, Michel, is all grown up. (See the photo below of the sofa he recently built at the vocational boarding school he attends in Lubumbashi thanks to an FPM scholarship.) We look forward to the approaching day when the children’s home is officially closed, as the conference is fully switching over to healthier alternatives to the orphanage model once our remaining young adults (now in their 20s) have the means to move out of the dormitory.

In Memory  
This winter we said goodbye to two dear friends: 

Lois Thompson (Teri’s mother/Taylor’s grandma) who over the years provided support—including loaning Bob and Taylor her extra-large van in 2008 so that they could drive a group of North Katanga General Conference delegates from Texas to Indiana (setting in motion a chain of events that altered the course of countless lives)—passed peacefully last month at the age of 91.

Rev. Mbayo Mwepu Maxime  left us earlier this month at the age of 70. If you remember Biking Bob talking about the conference evangelists who functioned as the traveling scholars/trainers and the campaign to distribute Bibles in tandem with Christian education training, Rev. Mbayo was half of that dream team (our friend Rev. Nyembo Kinkundulu—who continues in these ministries—being the other half.) Please click the links to learn more about their work. 

Last January, we said goodbye to our dear friend Denver Thornton, who passed at age 82. Denver and his wife Robin were the primary founding donors and fundraisers for the El Dorado Nursing School, one of FPM's proudest collaborations. 

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support of FPM and all of our team members. It is thanks to you and with you that Friendly Planet Missiology has been able to accomplish so much.

The FPM Family

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