"People need Jesus": Methodist Church in Ireland set to install new President this week
The Rev Alan Wardlow will be installed as President of the Methodist Church in Ireland during the opening service of the 256th Conference of the religious denomination.
The conference takes place from Thursday, June 5 until Saturday, June 7 at Thomas Street Methodist Church in Portadown.
Rev Wardlow was designated as President of the Methodist Church in Ireland for 2025-26 at the Methodist Church in Ireland's 2024 annual conference.
Alan grew up in Knockbreda in Belfast in the 1970s and although his parents were not church-goers they did send him along to Sunday School at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
He was educated at Cregagh Primary School and Knockbreda High School, and when he left school he joined the Civil Service briefly before studying English and Politics at the University of Ulster.
Following a number of years of Bible teaching, reflection and training in evangelism at Cliff College in Sheffield, he completed his studies and then went on to become a local preacher in training.
Alan served in a number of evangelism and pastoral roles within in the Church, both in Ireland and in London; and in 1989 he was welcomed as a candidate for the ordained ministry in Ireland. He completed three years training at Edgehill College in Belfast and was ordained at Conference in 1994 in Portadown.
Speaking ahead of his installation, the Rev Wardlow said: “What I will be saying is, people need Jesus. We need to share Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to be unflinching in offering Christ, and the Holy Spirit will help us find ways of doing this.”
In his inaugural address on the evening of Thursday, June 5, the Rev Alan Wardlow will encourage the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to continue to proclaim Christ with boldness.
He will ask the Church: “Would it not be a different Church if all who profess faith and have a living relationship with Jesus Christ witnessed to it, shared it and preached it?”
He will conclude by saying: “All of us can do something. Growth begins with us all who are Christians, engaging in a personal relationship with Jesus, witnessing ourselves and joining with others to share the good news with urgency and love.”