On Sunday, May 17, 2026, United Methodists around the world will share in something extraordinary. Across nearly 30,000 United Methodist churches worldwide, congregations will be invited to pray, worship, and give together through Miracle Sunday, a global offering supporting theological education outside the United States.
At UMCG, Miracle Sunday will also be our 2026 Bishop’s Appeal Offering, which means our giving will join both the worldwide United Methodist effort and the mission priorities of the Northern Illinois Conference.
This offering is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: God raises up leaders through the generosity of the church.
In December 2024, three United Methodists were killed in Munga Dosa, Nigeria. In the aftermath of that tragedy, the Rev. Eli Sule Yakku, along with other leaders, stepped forward to provide calm, courageous, faithful leadership. He helped support grieving families, guide the village, and keep the community rooted in peace rather than retaliation.
Rev. Sule was educated at the United Methodist-related Banyam Theological Seminary in Bambur, Nigeria. His education helped equip him with the knowledge, faith, and leadership skills needed for that moment. Theological education did not simply prepare him to preach sermons or lead church meetings. It prepared him to serve Christ in a moment of crisis. That is what Miracle Sunday is about.
The vision of this worldwide offering is to raise up new generations of outstanding leaders outside the United States, leaders who are formed as disciples of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and prepared to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in their communities.
The goal is ambitious. It would be significant to raise enough money to endow fifty scholarships. But the dream is much larger: to endow enough scholarships to support 500 leaders every year, every year into the future. That would take a miracle.
And as United Methodists, we believe God often works miracles through ordinary people who pray, trust, and give together.
The biblical model for this offering comes from 1 Chronicles 29, when King David led the people in giving for the building of the temple. David gave first. Other leaders followed. Then the people responded joyfully. Generosity became contagious because leaders gave their best, and the whole community joined in the work of God. That same spirit will guide our giving at UMCG.
This year’s Bishop’s Appeal will also support the construction of a new high school in Tanzania, led by United Methodist missionary Rev. Young Seon Kim, known as Christina, a clergy member of the Northern Illinois Conference. As a connectional church, and in the spirit of the earliest Methodists, we believe every child deserves an education.
The planned school will include four classrooms, a computer laboratory, dormitories for boys and girls, a multipurpose hall, guest rooms for volunteer teachers and visitors, outdoor shower and toilet facilities, storage buildings, a basketball court, and playgrounds. The campus will also share science laboratories, a library, and cafeteria space with the secondary school already built through this ministry. In other words, this offering supports education for pastors and students, for church leaders and young people, for communities today and generations still to come.
Our Missions/Church in Society Committees will make a contribution to the Bishop’s Appeal on behalf of UMCG. In addition, every United Methodist is invited to participate personally.
Gifts may be given directly online to Miracle Sunday via thier website not UMCG, or gifts may be placed in ouroffering plate or mailed to UMCG. Any Miracle Sunday gifts received through UMCG will be added to the contribution made by MCIS to the Bishops Appeal to be shared as noted above.
On May 17, we will join United Methodists around the world in praying for a miracle, not the kind that falls from the sky detached from us, but the kind God works through faithful people who offer what they have for the sake of Christ’s mission.
Together, we can help raise up leaders who love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.
Together, we can be part of the miracle.