Roland Fernandes, General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), has assumed leadership of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), effective on July 1, 2024.
Fernandes has worked with GBGM and UMCOR since 1996, occupying many leadership positions. In 2020, he was chosen as General Secretary of GBGM and UMCOR, to lead the work on mission and humanitarian relief. In 2023, as part of the alignment between GBGM and GBHEM, he was appointed General Secretary of GBHEM upon the retirement of Greg Bergquist. Fernandes and Bergquist were collaborating since 2022 in a process of a future alignment between both agencies and adaptation of their respective ministries to a new reality. Since then, members of both agencies met to discuss forms of collaborative partnerships, sharing of staff, joint programs, and strategic connections in the areas of scholarships, grants, leadership formation and training, theology, and regional work.
Fernandes was born and raised in India, thus bringing an important international dimension to the work of both agencies, a commitment to mission as an endeavor beyond individualities, and an intentionality to serve God at a time such as this. He was trained in Finance, served as Missionary, held many positions of leadership in GBGM, and has had the support of both Boards of Directors as he starts his tenure in this dual role. For a few report on Roland Fernandes and his role as General Secretary of GBGM, UMCOR, and GBHEM, please read the statement posted on the agencies’ websites and social media: www.umcmission.org and www.gbhem.org.