The United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a "connectional church," which means our churches are connected by a system to guide our work and govern our policies. This system also allows us to pool our resources so that we may work together more effectively and be in ministry throughout the world.

How we are connected:

Local Church
All members of The United Methodist Church are connected with a local congregation. United Methodists believe the local church is the "most significant arena" through which we are able to make disciples (devoted followers) of Jesus Christ. Sometimes several local churches are linked together and share a pastor. They are known as a pastoral charge. Each local church can have its own personality and style, but our local congregations have this common purpose. Local congregations make disciples through worship, educational experiences for people of all ages, fellowship activities, and opportunities to serve and "put faith into action."

In the North Alabama Conference there are 750 local churches. Click here to find a church near you.
 

Districts
A district is made up of a group of churches in a geographical location. An ordained clergy elder known as the District Superintendent supervises each district. Churches in a district often meet together for training events and ministry opportunities and may combine resources for special projects.

There are 8 districts in the North Alabama Conference. Each district includes between 55 and 140 churches.
 

Annual Conferences
The Annual Conference is the basic organizational body in The United Methodist Church. An Annual Conference includes all United Methodist churches (and thus all districts) in a geographically defined area. A Bishop presides over an Annual Conference. (Bishops actually oversee an Episcopal Area, which may be made up of a part, a whole, or multiple Annual Conference areas.)

Pastors are itinerate within an Annual Conference area, which means they move from church to church during their ministry career. The Bishop and the District Superintendents (known as the Cabinet) determine which church or ministry a pastor will serve, making sure each church has a pastor. The Bishop officially appoints a pastor to a church and appointments are renewed or changed each year.

The Annual Conference connects local churches together. Churches contribute financial resources (a portion of their local church budget known as "apportionments"; "conference askings"; or connectional giving) which enables the Annual Conference to support ministry projects within its boundaries and throughout the world; provide training sessions to help its churches be more effective; start new churches and ministries; provide special events for children, youth and adults; and administrate the business of this connection of churches.

Once a year clergy and lay representatives from each pastoral charge meet for an Annual Conference meeting. During this three-day event, the representatives worship together and share in times of Bible study, they hear stories of ministry and determine the programs and direction of ministry for the Annual Conference for the next year. They also vote and make business decisions necessary to support the ministry of the Annual Conference and its churches.

The North Alabama Conference includes the geographical area from the middle of Alabama north to the Tennessee state line. The North Alabama Annual Conference Session is traditionally held the first week of June.
 

Jurisdictions
Jurisdictions are large regional divisions of The United Methodist Church within the United States and are composed of Annual Conferences within their boundaries. The five jurisdictions are North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern and Western.

Representatives from each Annual Conference meet together for a Jurisdictional Conference once every four years. During this session, the delegates vote on business matters regarding the ministry within that Jurisdictional area. They also have the role to elect Bishops for the church.

A Bishop is an ordained clergy person who is elected by the Jurisdictional Conference to oversee an Episcopal area. A Bishop is elected for life, and is itinerate in the Jurisdiction in which he or she was elected. Bishops are appointed to oversee an Episcopal (geographical) Area in four-year blocks. It takes special permission from the Jurisdictional Conference for a Bishop to serve an area for more then eight years. There is a mandatory retirement age of 70. A Bishop is no longer appointed to preside over an Episcopal Area after he or she turns 70, but continues to serve the Church on the world level as a part of the Council of Bishops.

The North Alabama Conference is in the Southeastern Jurisdiction . Our Bishop, William H. Willimon, was elected a Bishop at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2004, He has served North Alabama since September 1, 2004.
 

General Conference
The General Conference is the highest legislative body in the denomination. Representatives for every Annual and Central Conference (Regional Conferences outside the United States) meet in April or May once every four years. Bishops preside at the sessions of the General Conference but do not have the privilege of voice or vote in its deliberations.

The clergy (pastors) and lay (local church members) delegates debate and vote as one body. The primary responsibility of the General Conference is to enact legislation for the denomination.

The organization, beliefs and official policies of The United Methodist Church are contained in The Book of Discipline . At its quadrennial meeting, the General Conference reviews The Book of Discipline and has the authority to rewrite any portion of it, following the proper procedures of course.

The last General Conference meeting was in the spring of 2008 in Fort Worth, TX.  The next General Conference meeting will be April 25 – May 4, 2012 in Tampa, Florida.

Checks and balances are built into all aspects of church life. The organization of the denomination resembles that of the U.S. government. The General Conference is the top legislative body; a nine-member Judicial Council is the "supreme court," and reviews situations in the church to make sure they are in adherence with The Book of Discipline; and the Council of Bishops is similar to the executive branch.

At every level of the church, from the local church to the General Church, there are teams, committees and councils focusing on particular areas of ministry. These teams guide the efforts of a particular ministry effort and determine the specifics of how ministry is carried out.
 

Connectivity allows us to serve the world
United Methodists join the founder of the Methodist movement John Wesley in affirming the divine call to do good works that show God's love wherever we can. We are mutually connected - organized - so that our individual efforts blend with the work of others to be more powerful than any one person or any one congregation can do alone. Our budgets support our "good works" and express our covenant to connectional service and multiply God's love in tangible ways.

Today, United Methodists comprise the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States.