New Room Conference Promotes Wesleyan Holiness and Micro-Communities

The 2016 New Room Conference drew over 1,500 attendees, marking it as the largest regular pan-Wesleyan gathering in America. The event, held in central Tennessee, featured livestream participation, inspiring worship, and plenary sermons by notable figures such as Ben Witherington, a New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary. The conference also included communal prayer, repentance, and workshops on practical ministry topics like family discipleship and women’s ministry.

Sponsored by Seedbed, the publishing arm of Asbury Theological Seminary, the New Room Conference aims to revive the early Methodist movement’s emphasis on community. J. D. Walt of Seedbed described the initiative as a “twenty-first century attempt at a classical Methodist movement.” He emphasized that the early Methodist movement relied on smaller connections, and Seedbed believes content alone is insufficient—people also need contexts for spiritual growth.

New Room is working to establish “micro-communities” modeled on the early Methodist classes and bands. These groups are not intended to replace existing churches but to create spaces for Christians to pursue sanctification in holiness, a key aspect of Wesleyan theology. Seedbed’s name reflects its mission to sow seeds for spiritual awakening, a theme central to the conference.

The conference highlighted the New Room Bands portal at www.newroombands.com, promoting the formation of these communities. One final presentation featured Rev. Jessica LaGrone, Dean of Asbury Seminary’s Chapel, interviewing members of a modern-day Wesleyan band in Florida. The group, consisting of seven men including pastors of rapidly growing United Methodist congregations, described how they challenge each other to Christian purity and support one another in spiritual growth.

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