More UM missionaries commissioned
March 11 than in last several years

Willie Berman was commissioned March 11 as a United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) missionary. He has been appointed as the Mexican Methodist Border Mission Coordinator and will serve the Methodist Church of Mexico in the border region while based in Reynosa, Mexico. Berman is a Mexican citizen and will serve as an “in-country missionary.”
Berman has been serving the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico as the Volunteer in Mission coordinator for the past 7-8 years. He completed three weeks of missionary training in New York prior to being commissioned. He will receive supervision and support from the GBGM Mission Personnel Office and be under the direction of his Bishop as a long-term missionary.
Willie will be working with the ministries and churches of the Methodist Church of Mexico as they continue to promote the building of God’s Church in Mexico and making it a vital part of its community, a place where people come for worship, fellowship, learning and service.
Twenty-two new United Methodist missionaries were commissioned March 11 to serve in churches, hospitals and community centers in 10 countries and five states of the United States. The new missionaries are lawyers, doctors, pastors and agriculturalists. They come from places as diverse as Brazil, the Philippines, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Missouri and Michigan. They fall into several categories of mission service and form the largest group of United Methodist missionaries commissioned at the same time in the last four years.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez of San Antonio presided over the commissioning service during the annual meeting of the directors of the General Board of Global Ministries, meeting in Stamford, Ct. Martinez is the president of the international mission agency.
To “commission” is to give people special service roles on behalf of the church.
Berman has a special relationship with many of the churches in the conference. He is also a member of the Methodist Border Friendship Commission, representing the McAllen District and Southern District of the UMC and the San Pablo and Fronterizo District of the Methodist Church of Mexico.