External links open in a new window.  For more about the organization of the United Methodist Church, please visit Structure and Organization at umc.org

Church Organization

The United Methodist Church works on the principle of connectionalism.  This is the concept that all leaders and all congregations are bound by a common mission and a common governance.  The congregations are connected in a network of commitments that support each local church as well as the denomination as a whole.  Our connectionalism shows through our system of appointing clergy, through our missions and ministries that we develop and support together, and through our giving. 

The United Methodist Church created a system that is in some ways similar to the the branches of the United States Government.  The General Conference is the legislative branch.  It meets every four years and is the top policy-making body of the United Methodist Church.  The Council of Bishops is somewhat like an executive branch and gives general oversight to the worldly and spiritual interests of the Church.  The nine-member Judicial Council determines the constitutionality of actions or proposed actions of the Conferences.  It also rules on whether actions of official bodies of the denomination conform to The Book of Discipline. 
 

Local churches are organized into districts, which are then organized into Annual Conferences.  There are 63 Annual Conferences in the United States.  In the United States, each Annual Conference is organized into one of 5 Jurisdictions.  The Annual Conferences together with Central Conferences from around the world make up the General Church. 

To learn more, please see the following
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