Bergquist Named GBHEM General Secretary

The Board of Directors for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) is pleased to announce the election of Rev. Greg Bergquist as the agency’s new general secretary. Bergquist comes to the role after serving for six months as GBHEM’s acting general secretary.

“Greg Bergquist is uniquely gifted to lead GBHEM in this season of change. He has extensive leadership experience and understands what is needed to carry the agency into the future,” said Bishop William McAlilly, president of the GBHEM Board of Directors and bishop for the Nashville Episcopal Area.

Although he has only led the agency for a short time, Bergquist has already made significant strides for GBHEM. He has worked with the board to clarify and strengthen the agency’s mission, build a platform for future sustainability, and facilitate new educational discussions with voices across the global connection.

“I am honored by the board’s decision. Although The United Methodist Church is in a period of uncertainty, GBHEM believes that our historic ministry of learning and leadership will remain vital to the Church, the academy and the world,” said Bergquist. “We have an amazing team and I am excited to continue working with them to shape the future of GBHEM — an agency that serves Christians around the globe as they discover, claim and flourish in God’s call on their lives.”

Bergquist is a member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference where he has a long history of leadership. He served for three years as GBHEM’s associate general secretary for the Division of Ordained Ministry before transitioning to acting general secretary. Prior to joining GBHEM, he was a conference superintendent for leadership development, a senior pastor and an assistant professor of United Methodist Studies at Pacific School of Religion.

“Rev. Greg Bergquist brings with him a keen intellect, a pastor’s heart and an unwavering commitment to Christ our Lord.  With God’s help, he will lead us all faithfully,” said Bishop Minerva Carcaño, bishop for the California-Nevada Annual Conference.

While leading GBHEM’s Division of Ordained Ministry, Bergquist became well-acquainted with the agency’s strategic partners and, as acting general secretary, he has further cultivated those relationships and made a priority of strengthening bonds across the connection.

“Rev. Greg Bergquist’s commitment and leadership in higher education spans across generations and the global church. In these critical times, he will provide the steady and innovative leadership needed to help GBHEM cultivate the next generation of courageous leaders both for the Church and for the world,” said Bishop Tracy Malone, resident bishop for the Ohio East Area and Africa University board member.

Since June, Bergquist has worked with the GBHEM Board and staffers to hone the agency’s ministry and mission and prepare it to serve the changing needs of the modern Church. He’s implemented a strategic process to make the agency nimbler and more self-sustaining moving forward.

“Rev. Bergquist is just the right leader for ‘such a time as this’ at GBHEM and more broadly within our denomination. In his work at the agency, Greg has demonstrated a strong commitment to the values of transparency, accountability and collaboration, as well as a gift for pastoral sensitivity. He is a visionary in his thinking and adaptive in his style.  We are very excited about his new role,” said Lallene Rector, president of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and chair of the GBHEM Board’s Personnel and Policies Committee.

Bergquist will begin his four-year term as general secretary on January 1, 2020.

About GBHEM: The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry embraces the ministry of learning and leadership formation in The United Methodist Church and the Wesleyan tradition; serving Christians around the world who are shaped by a process of intellectual engagement, spiritual and character formation, and leadership development. We cultivate a dynamic culture of call and vocational discernment that encourages lay and clergy leaders to discover, claim and flourish in God’s ministry and mission for the Church, the academy and the world. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @GBHEM.