Celebrating the commissioning of provisional members into the Conference and the ordination of deacons and elders.
Preacher: Rev. Kim Jenne, Missouri Conference Director of Connectional Ministries
Ecumenical Representative: Bishop César Llanco Zavaleta, Iglesia Metodista del Perú
ABOUT REV. KIM JENNE
Raised in a close-knit coal mining and farming community in southern Illinois, Rev. Kim Jenne was formed by a small United Methodist congregation that taught her grace is given freely, not earned. She has served as Director of Connectional Ministries for the Missouri Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church since 2015, providing strategic leadership across the life of the Conference, including Annual Conference planning, leadership development, boundaries education, communications, and the ministries of Mission, Service and Justice. Her work focuses on equipping clergy and laity, strengthening connectional systems and helping the Church align its resources with its mission.
Prior to her current appointment, Kim served as senior pastor of Webster Hills United Methodist Church in St. Louis. She is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church and holds a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, along with a certificate in theology in ministry from the University of Cambridge. She also holds degrees in communications from Southeast Missouri State University and Webster University, reflecting her early professional life in advertising, where she spent a decade learning storytelling, strategy and persuasion and, by her own admission, having entirely too much fun. Kim considers herself an inconsistent but persistent disciple of Jesus Christ.
ABOUT BISHOP CESAR LLANCO ZAVALETA
Raised in a Methodist family, Rev. César Antonio Llanco Zavaleta is the eldest son of Rev. César Llanco-Bravo and Magdalena Zavaleta-Minaya. As the son of a pastor, he accompanied his parents in ministry in various parts of Peru, an experience that helped him discern his ministerial vocation. He has a clear vision of the Church’s mission, as well as a commitment to fostering ecumenical work and collaboration with civil society, especially in congregational development, pastoral care and theological education.
Rev. César Antonio Llanco Zavaleta earned a Master of Theological Sciences from the Latin American Biblical University in Costa Rica, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in Theology. He served as a professor and dean at the San Pablo Andean Seminary and is a member of the Latin American and Caribbean Community for Ecumenical Theological Education.
Even before his ordination in 2007, he served in rural and urban Methodist congregations. In 2007, he was appointed chaplain of the Andean School of Huancayo for two years. In 2012, he was appointed superintendent of the Sierra Selva District, which encompasses the regions of Junín, Pasco and Huancavelica, a position he held for 11 years until his election as Bishop of the Methodist Church of Peru. He also chairs the National Commission for Christian Education, founded in 2018 to oversee the production of Sunday school materials.