How Does the United Methodist Church Work?

The United Methodist Church

I have found that many people think that each church itself is a standalone business. Well this is not so with United Methodist churches. The structure of the Methodist church has often been joked about but as many people say, "If you want something done, get the Methodists to do it." Not many people seem to think about it but the root of the word "Methodist" is Method, meaning we are very methodical in everything we do. This has remained true since the beginning of the Methodist church. One of the reasons the Methodist church accomplishes so much is due to a major emphasis on "connectionalism." I'm not trying to make an implication that the United Methodist denomination is any better than another, but this is one of the main concepts that this denomination focuses on.

Structure

The United Methodist Church has no single or central office. Nor does it have an archbishop or pope. The church has a General Conference, it's legislative branch; a council of bishops, like an executive branch; and a nine-member Judicial Council, acting as the judicial branch. The General Conference is the only body that can set official policy and speak for the denomination. It is a body of about 1,000 delegates that meets every four years. These delegates are elected by annual conferences. Half of the delegates are laity (congregational and conference representatives), and half are clergy (ordained pastors). At this conference, delegates discuss and vote on petitions and resolutions proposed by individuals, organizations, and annual conferences. The actions taken during this conference lead to revisions in the Book of Discipline, the denomination's book of law.

Annual Conferences

You may be wondering what an annual conference is. Every year each conference of United Methodist Churches meet to conduct the business for the conference. There are a few conferences in most states. All clergy members and an equal number of laity delegate this yearly conference. During sessions of annual conference members of the conference hear reports about past and ongoing work while making goals for the future, adopting programs and budgets, and ordaining new clergy. This is also where delegates are elected to General and Jurisdictional Conferences. The Bishop presides over these sessions. I know this is a lot of information to take in but I feel that it is vital for us to understand how our church works so that we can make a change for the better to how our denomination is managed. Let me know if you have any questions or seek further explanation.

God Bless,

Christian