Ruben Saenz becomes new president of UMC Council of Bishops
Ruben Saenz Jr. has become the new president of The United Methodist Church Council of Bishops. He succeeds Bishop Tracy S. Malone, the first black woman to serve in the role.
At its spring meeting in Washington, D.C., last week, Saenz was installed as president, while Malone officially completed her term last Friday. She now serves as the immediate past president.
“I am humbled to serve as president and deeply grateful for Bishop Malone’s faithful, visionary leadership,” said Saenz in a speech at the meeting. “Together, we will continue to lead a church that is alive in Christ, anchored in grace, and committed to justice, mercy, and joyful service.”
At the spring meeting, UMC leadership also installed Bishop Mande Muyombo as president-designate of the Council of Bishops and Bishop Lanette Plambeck as secretary of the council.
Saenz serves as bishop of the UMC Horizon Texas Conference, a regional body officially launched at the start of 2025 through the merger of three Texas-based UMC conferences.
Saenz helped guide the merger process, explaining in a November 2023 video that the process centered on “how to harness our resources to enhance and expand the Gospel of Christ in the United Methodist tradition.”
The bishop said the priorities of the unification included efforts to “champion children and youth,” “multiply followers of Jesus,” “pursue and embrace diversity,” “maximize care and healing,” and “tell our United Methodist story.”
Before becoming a bishop, Saenz served as executive director of the Rio Texas Conference’s Mission Vitality Center and helped start 11 new churches.
Saenz served congregations in Dallas and El Paso as pastor, as well as El Buen Pastor of Edinburg, reportedly the largest Hispanic UMC congregation in the United States, according to his online biography.
A graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University and the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Saenz has been married to his wife, Mayé, since 1981. The couple has four children and 11 grandchildren.
In 2024, delegates at the UMC General Conference voted overwhelmingly to remove the denomination’s ban on the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate LGBT individuals.
The decision came after thousands of mostly conservative churches left the UMC amid the ongoing debate over LGBT issues and numerous instances of progressive leaders refusing to follow or enforce the rules against same-sex marriage.
Regarding the 2024 changes, Saenz said in a pastoral letter that while he supported the decision, he also acknowledged differing opinions among congregations on the issue.
“Each church — whether traditional, centrist or progressive — must adapt to the unique mission field context in which it is situated to ensure that its message and ministry resonate with the needs of the people it seeks to serve,” he wrote at the time.
“Be assured that the Cabinet and I will continue to work with churches and clergy to ensure the best match of clergy gifts and talents with the needs and contexts of churches and their mission fields.”
