Do you believe that God is doing a new thing within and beyond the walls of the church? Are you a pastor/preacher, musician, choir director or member, a sacred dancer, or a children’s ministry leader who wants to be part of God’s game-changing work?
If so, plan now to join us in Dallas, April 29-May 2, 2026, for a first-ever collaborative coaching event co-lead by Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century, an initiative of the United Methodist Church Discipleship Ministries.
Registration is open for this worship and ministry leaders’ event, “Shifting the Atmosphere. Where Worship Ignites and Leadership Fuels Revival.”
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The training team will feature some of the top preachers, ministry leaders in technology and children’s ministry, musicians, sacred arts practitioners, theologians, and choir leaders in the nation. We encourage clergy, ministers of music, singers, instrumentalists, artists, dancers, and children’s leaders to join us.
Founded in 2022, in partnership with Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, the Junius B. Dotson Institute for Music and Worship in the Black Church and Beyond (JBDI), a one-of-a-kind global Institute that provides training in the sacred musics of Africana church traditions and beyond for musicians and worship leaders.
The Institute has a four-fold purpose:
The Institute’s initial efforts will focus on professional development for practitioners who have experienced limited or no formal training in the areas of sacred music and worship unique to the Black church. In the spirit of the former Methodist Circuit Riders, the Institute will be itinerant, holding events and trainings around the country to reach churches, musicians, and choral leaders.
Rev. Dr. Cynthia A. Wilson is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church serving as the founder and Director of the Junius B. Dotson Institute for Music and Worship in the Black Church and Beyond. A talented vocalist, Dr. Wilson has participated as a solo artist, choral conductor, academician, preacher and clinician across 6 continents. She is a Grammy nominee and was noted the “Best Female Vocalist” at the Gospel Choice Awards. Dr. Wilson was invited to join the National Task Force (1979) that produced the Songs of Zion, and Co-Chaired the task force that produced its sequel (2007), Zion Still Sings! For Every Generation with the late Dr. William B. McClain.
The Junius B. Dotson Institute for Music and Worship in the Black Church and Beyond is named in honor of the late clergyman and denominational leader, the Rev. Junius B. Dotson, a nationally recognized speaker and author on evangelism and church revitalization, who died in 2021, at age 55 after fighting a valiant battle against cancer. Read more about Junius’ life.
A popular author and leader in congregational growth and development, Mr. Dotson was, at the time of his passing, general secretary (chief executive officer) of Discipleship Ministries, an international agency of The United Methodist Church, that co-sponsors the Dotson Institute.
His books included Soul Reset: Breakdown, Breakthrough, and the Journey to Wholeness (Upper Room Books), Developing an Intentional Discipleship System: A Guide for Congregations, and Engaging Your Community: A Guide to Seeing All the People.
A lover of music and worship, Mr. Dotson lived according to a holistic understanding of Christian discipleship, asserting that effective ministry is about developing, and empowering leaders to address the needs of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.
Mr. Dotson received his undergraduate degree in political science, with a concentration in economics, at the University of Texas at Arlington. He did graduate work at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and earned a master of divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif. He was ordained a United Methodist elder in 1992.
