Letter 01
Congratulations
April 20, 2026
Letter 02
The Vision
Unlocks May 1, 2026
Unlocks in
Letter 03
Prayer & Commitment
Unlocks May 20, 2026
Unlocks in
#ElectBarnett
Candidate — General Secretary of Christian Education and Formation
Christian Education that equips every church to form disciples.
Nurturing · Empowering · Training Disciples with a Servant's Heart.
Delegate Congratulations
Letter 1 of 3
| 20+Years Ministry | 3Congregations Pastored | 2Doctoral Degrees | Day 1Ready to Lead |
April 2026
Dear General Conference Delegate,
Grace and peace to you.
Congratulations on your delegation election. As you prepare to serve at our upcoming General Conference, I write with deep respect for the responsibility entrusted to you. Your vote will help shape the future direction of Christian Education and Formation across our connection for years to come.
For over two decades, I have been privileged to serve the Church in several capacities. As an ordained elder, pastor, Christian Educator Director, Presiding Elder, and currently, Eighth Episcopal District Director of Christian Education and Formation, my commitment has been sincere. Long before titles and assignments, my heart has been anchored in one calling: forming disciples who are rooted in faith and prepared for faithful witness.
As a pioneer and a trailblazer, I began serving in children's ministry at seventeen years old — the first to establish a new vision for Children's Church where I served. In 1998, I answered the call to ministry. I was ordained in 2002, pastored three churches, and since then, I've developed leaders, equipped teachers, nurtured and empowered disciples, and strengthened local churches and districts. Through every season, Christian formation has not been a position I sought — it has been a lifelong assignment to address the spiritual and physical needs of the church.
Our Churches Are Navigating
Complex Realities.
Our congregations want strong Christian formation — but many lack the structure, tools, and systems to sustain it.
As General Secretary,
My Commitment Is Clear.
Resource Every Church
Accessible spiritual formation tools for every congregation — large and small.
Develop Leaders Intentionally
Measurable training pathways that build capacity at every level of the connection.
Strengthen Intergenerational Discipleship
Models that connect every generation in shared formation and faithful witness.
Modernize Responsibly
Digital infrastructure that serves ministry — not the other way around.
Build Systems That Outlast One Administration
Structure over personality. Sustainability over enthusiasm. Measurable formation over momentary programs.
This is not about programs. It is about sustainability. It is not about personality. It is about structure. It is not about momentary enthusiasm. It is about measurable spiritual formation.
— Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
We have an opportunity to establish ministry that strengthens every district and every congregation — large and small — across our connection.
I humbly ask for your prayerful consideration and your support. Help be a part of history-making and elect a trailblazer, pioneer, and experienced leader who is prepared, committed, compassionate and ready to be the change our church needs — with leadership that builds what lasts.
You may learn more about the vision
and lend your endorsement below.
In Christ's service,
Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
Candidate for General Secretary of
Christian Education and Formation
#ElectBarnett
#ElectBarnett
REV. DR. LINDACandidate — General Secretary of Christian Education and Formation
Christian Education that equips every church to form disciples.
Nurturing · Empowering · Training Disciples with a Servant's Heart.
Delegate Letter Series
Letter 2 of 3 — The Vision
| 64%Young Adults Withdrawing | 77%Churches Need Dev. Help | 50%Youth Faith Attrition | 20+Yrs Building Systems |
April 2026
Dear General Conference Delegate,
Grace and peace to you.
When I wrote to you last, I introduced myself and shared the calling that has anchored my ministry for over two decades. Today I want to go deeper — because a vote of this magnitude deserves more than an introduction. You deserve to know exactly what I intend to build, and why I believe this moment in the CME Church demands a new kind of leadership in Christian Education and Formation.
The data does not lie. Sixty-four percent of young adults have withdrawn from church. Seventy-seven percent of our congregations report volunteer development challenges. Half of our youth do not sustain their faith through college. These are not abstract statistics — they are our children, our teachers, our future. And they are waiting on us to respond with more than passion. They need structure. They need systems. They need a strategy built to last.
"Education is not just information," I have said many times — it is transformation. The General Secretary of Christian Education and Formation must be someone who has not only studied transformation, but built it — in local churches, in districts, across generations. That is the work I have been doing. That is the vision I am bringing to Dallas.
| 64% Young adults who withdrew from church Barna Research | 77% Churches with volunteer dev. challenges Lifeway Research | 50% Youth who don't sustain faith through college Children Everywhere | 20+ Years building formation systems that last Rev. Dr. Barnett |
A Strategy Built for
Day One — Not Someday.
Pillar 01
Resource Every Local Church
Virtual curriculum support, formation toolkits, and clear implementation guides built for churches of every size — from the smallest rural congregation to the largest urban fellowship. No church left without tools.
Pillar 02
Develop Leaders Intentionally
Teacher training pathways, district leadership intensives, mentorship pipelines, and trauma-informed development — all with measurable benchmarks. We will know who is growing, and we will invest in them.
Pillar 03
Modernize with Purpose
A digital resource hub built on sustainable systems with data-informed evaluation and learning style training. Technology that serves the mission — never the other way around.
Pillar 04
Strengthen Intergenerational Discipleship
Models that connect every generation in shared learning environments — cultivating legacy, diversifying ministry, and ensuring that what we build outlasts any one season or administration.
Pillar 05
Measure What Matters
Spiritual growth benchmarks, church evaluation tools, and annual impact reporting across the connection. Not activity for activity's sake — but evidence of genuine formation, district by district.
This is a connection-wide strategy — designed to serve every district, every congregation, every generation. It is not built around a personality. It is built around a proven process, developed over decades of real ministry in real churches facing real challenges.
My academic preparation — an M.A. in Christian Service from Brite Divinity School at TCU, a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman's University, and a Doctor of Ministry in spirituality, justice, and leadership graduating December 2026 — is not incidental to this work. It is the foundation of it. I have spent my life studying how people learn, how communities heal, and how institutions build sustainable change.
That scholarship, combined with over two decades of formation ministry in the pew, the pulpit, the district office, and the classroom — is what makes this vision more than a plan. It is a prepared path, ready to walk from day one.
Voices of Endorsement.
"She Doesn't Just Care About Christian Education… She Leads It with Vision and Excellence."
Sis. Charlene Hendrickson
DFW/NW Region CE & Formation Director
"Celebrating Your Candidacy — Your passion for education and love for ALL of God's people coupled with your concerns for a better 'Way' is why you are truly a stalwart candidate for General Secretary."
Pastor (Ret) Rev. Eva M. Freeman
Endorser
"God's blessings to Presiding Elder Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett on her journey to Dallas 2026. A Servant of God."
Rev. Henretta Muse
Servant of God
Every chapter prepared her for this moment. The church needs a formation leader who has lived this work — who has studied it, practiced it, and built systems that outlast any single term.
— ElectBarnett.com
Delegate, I am not asking you to take a chance on a promise. I am asking you to recognize a track record. The work has been done. The systems have been tested. The vision is ready.
In my final letter, I will come to you simply — with a prayer, a request, and a commitment. Until then, I ask that you visit www.electbarnett.com, review the full vision, and if the Spirit leads — add your endorsement to the growing movement for transformation across our connection.
Review the full vision and join the movement
for formation across our connection.
In Christ's service,
Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
Candidate for General Secretary of
Christian Education and Formation
#ElectBarnett
Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
CME General Secretary of Christian Education & Formation · 2026
Paid for by the Barnett Campaign Committee · Fort Worth, Texas
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#ElectBarnett
REV. DR. LINDACandidate — General Secretary of Christian Education and Formation
Christian Education that equips every church to form disciples.
Nurturing · Empowering · Training Disciples with a Servant's Heart.
Delegate Letter Series
Letter 3 of 3 — Prayer & Commitment
| 20+Years Ministry | 3Congregations Pastored | 2Doctoral Degrees | Day 1Ready to Lead |
April 2026
Dear General Conference Delegate,
Grace and peace to you.
This is my final letter before General Conference. I have introduced myself, shared my calling, laid out the vision, and made the case for why this moment in the CME Church demands formation leadership that is structured, prepared, and built to last. Today, I come to you differently. Today, I simply come as a servant.
I want to begin with prayer — because that is where all of this has always begun. Long before any title, any assignment, any campaign or candidacy, there was a seventeen-year-old girl in Fort Worth, Texas, kneeling before God with a simple offering: here I am. Use me. That prayer has not changed. The assignment has only grown.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
— Isaiah 40:31, KJV
This verse has been the heartbeat of my journey. Waiting upon the Lord is not passivity — it is preparation. It is the kind of readiness that only comes from decades of faithful service, study, and surrender. I have waited. I have prepared. And I believe with everything in me that this is the hour.
So I ask you — humbly, prayerfully, with full confidence in the God who called me — to stand with me in Dallas.
A Threefold
Commitment.
Pray. Lift this campaign, this candidacy, and this church before God in the days leading to General Conference. Ask Him for clarity, courage, and leaders who are truly called for such a time as this.
Stand in solidarity. Let the connection know that the movement for real, measurable, sustainable Christian formation is growing. Add your endorsement. Share the vision. Help others see what you see.
Vote with conviction. When you stand in that room in Dallas, vote for the candidate who has lived this work — not just studied it, not just talked about it, but built it in real churches with real people facing real challenges. Vote for formation that lasts.
From Rev. Dr. Barnett
Lord, we ask for wisdom in this season. Guide the hands, the hearts, and the voices of every delegate who will stand in Dallas on behalf of Your people. Let every vote cast be an act of faith — not for any one person, but for the generations of disciples who are waiting to be formed, equipped, and sent. Let our connection be known not for what we preserved, but for what we built. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Simple Steps.
Lasting Impact.
Endorse the Campaign
Visit www.electbarnett.com and add your name to the growing movement. Your endorsement signals to the connection that the call for real formation leadership is growing.
Share with Fellow Delegates
Forward this letter or share electbarnett.com with other delegates, clergy, and supporters in your district. Every conversation counts. Every voice adds to the movement.
Commit Your Vote in Dallas
When the moment comes, cast your vote for a trailblazer, a pioneer, and a proven builder — for leadership that has been tested, refined, and prepared not just for this election, but for this generation of the CME Church.
I am not asking you to take a chance. I am asking you to recognize what God has already done — and to say yes to what He is ready to build next.
— Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
Delegate, I want to close by saying this: whatever happens in Dallas, I am grateful. Grateful for the CME Church that shaped me, for the assignments that prepared me, for the God who called me, and for you — for reading these letters, for praying with me, for believing that the formation of disciples is worth fighting for.
The church needs what you carry. The church needs what we can build together. And I am ready — prepared, committed, and anchored in the One who makes all things new.
See you in Dallas.
Cast your net. Stand with the movement.
Help elect a leader who builds what lasts.
www.electbarnett.com
Endorse & Vote with Conviction www.electbarnett.comIn Christ's service, with faith and gratitude,
Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
Candidate for General Secretary of
Christian Education and Formation
Mother · Educator · Leader · Author · Presiding Elder · AKA
#ElectBarnett
Rev. Dr. Linda Barnett
CME General Secretary of Christian Education & Formation · 2026
Paid for by the Barnett Campaign Committee · Fort Worth, Texas
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