Bishops Linda Adams & Keith Cowart: Free Methodist Church, USA

Thrive With Asbury Seminary

Today on the podcast, I got to talk to Bishop Keith Cowart and Bishop Linda Adams. Both are bishops of the Free Methodist Church USA. Both oversee portions of the US with Bishop Cowart overseeing Europe and the Middle East, while Bishop Adams oversees the northern US and Latin America.
Bishop Cowart is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and Asbury Seminary for the M.Div. and D.Min. degrees. He and his wife Pam, who is also a graduate of the Seminary, have two adult sons. In 1997 Keith planted Christ Community Church in Columbus, Georgia, where he served for 21 years as lead pastor. Christ Community planted or played a major role in planting four other churches and sent out more than 35 men and women to serve as pastors, parachurch ministry directors, military chaplains and missionaries around the world.
Bishop Linda Adams is a graduate of Spring Arbor University and Asbury Seminary for the M.Div. and D.Min. degrees. She has enjoyed serving in three pastoral appointments in Spring Arbor, Michigan; St. Charles, Illinois; and as lead pastor of New Hope Church in Rochester, New York. During her ten years at New Hope, the church incorporated more than 30 refugees from Central Africa into the congregation, opening her eyes to the reality of global poverty and the migration of people because of war and ethnic strife. For 11 years, she then served as director of International Child Care Ministries, a vibrant global Free Methodist movement in 33 countries. Linda and her husband John have been married for nearly 45 years.
Both Bishop Keith and Bishop Linda were elected as bishops of the Free Methodist Church USA in 2019. In today’s conversation, we talk about their calling, their time at Asbury Seminary, how God led them on their journey to bishop, and a little bit about what the future of the Free Methodist Church looks like.
Let’s listen!