A United Methodist Church pastor, Darren Cowdrey has led Summer Faith Camps for kids and teens, and works with his wife at the Aldersgate Retreat Center in Los Angeles. One topic of faith in which Darren Cowdrey is actively engaged centers on making church relevant to the next generation.

This mission is embodied in a unique system of clergy deployments that reflects the practice of United Methodist founder John Wesley. Traveling across England as an “itinerant” preacher, Wesley set up Methodist societies in the places he visited, and preached approximately 40,000 sermons over the course of his lifetime. Wesley’s belief, forged in 18th century England, was that preachers who traveled from place to place had greater impact than those who stayed in one place, until they were no longer listened to with “fresh ears.”

To this day, the United Methodist system is one that emphasizes the willingness of pastors to preach and serve God wherever they are sent by their bishop. With most appointments lasting a single year, the end result is a “serial leadership” of deacons and pastors, and a blended system of worship and practice that embraces geographical diversity within a unified mission.