The United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a Christian denomination and worldwide movement rooted in the Wesleyan and Methodist traditions.

Its mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The United Methodist Church is made up of 12 million members with Annual Conferences (a geographically designated episcopal area of local ministries and churches) across five continents in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.

The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 out of both the dissolution of the racially segregated Central Jurisdictions in the United States, and the union of two previous bodies – The Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren Church. Methodism and Wesleyan marks of social holiness, grace for all, and the love of Jesus Christ are central to the tradition. Foundational documents of the Church include the Book of Discipline (including the Articles of Religion and the Confession of Faith), the Book of Resolutions and the Social Principles.

Church and Society is the agency within the Church that educates, advocates and connects in an effort to implement the Social Principles and other policy statements of The United Methodist Church. Continually advocating with policy makers, organizing the grassroots, and educating future leaders, Church and Society works to live faithfully, seek justice, and pursue peace.

Learn more about The United Methodist Church’s history, organization, and structure here.

Are you interested in attending a United Methodist church? Find-A-Church near you!

Ministry With the Poor

The United Methodist Church has affirmed four areas of focus for the denomination including developing principles Christian leaders, creating new places for new people, engaging in ministry with the poor, and improving global health. Church and Society is the lead agency on the denominational focus on Ministry With the Poor, which seeks to engage in relational ministries to address the root causes of poverty. For more information on Ministry With the Poor, click here.

Other United Methodist Agencies and Ministries

Church and Society enjoys partnerships with the fellow general agencies, commissions, and administration of The United Methodist Church. Click below to learn more.

Inter-ethnic Strategy Development Group and Caucuses

Church and Society collaborates with and helps foster the initiatives of the five official U.S.-based ethnic caucuses of The United Methodist Church. These caucuses work to elevate the causes of their membership, advocate for issues within and outside of the Church that affect them, and increase diversity within Church leadership. The five caucuses can be found here:

The Council of Bishops

Bishops of an Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church offer spiritual leadership to United Methodists around the world. They are each assigned to one or more Annual Conference and are responsible for the spiritual and temporal life of the Church. Offices of the Council of Bishops are in the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C. For more information on the Council of Bishops, click here.