General Conference and the ongoing dialog within The UMC

"The United Methodist Church is a worldwide, beautifully diverse church, and we believe in unity. We celebrate our diversity, and we embrace our cultural and theological differences. Our unity in Christ and connection as The United Methodist Church transcends geography, borders, barriers, and differences."

Bishop Tracy Smith Malone

FVUMC Overview Videos

Our church's Denominational Realities team has prepared a number of resources to help summarize the legislative changes made at General Conference. We encourage you to start by watching the three FVUMC overview videos and then continue diving into topics of interest using the links below.

Updates Post-General Conference

In this video, (recorded in June 2024) Pastor Owen talks through legislative changes, personal reflections, and biblical interpretation of scripture.

This video is organized into three segments:

  • 00:00 General Conference Legislative Summary (includes Regionalization, Removal of Restrictive Language, Social Principles, and Other Legislation )
  • 09:09 Perspective (Personal Reflections and Insights from Pastor Owen and highlights from NCC Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton's sermon during Opening Worship at Annual Conference 2024)
  • 20:14 Conversations on Interpreting Scripture (Exploring Varying Biblical Understandings)

Pre-General Conference Summaries

If you did not have a chance to watch the pair of videos Pastors Owen and Hope shared earlier in Spring 2024, we encourage you to watch these (see below) -- they offer a great overview of the types of changes that were debated and voted upon at General Conference.

Updates on General Conference - Overview

From April 23-May 3, 2024, United Methodists from all over the world attended a gathering called General Conference here in Charlotte.

In this video (recorded before GC took place), Pastor Owen Barrow and Pastor Hope Ledbetter-Bock give an overview of General Conference and its significance for The United Methodist Church as a denomination.

In-Depth on GC and Church Disaffiliations

Learn more about General Conference and other topics related to our denomination (recorded before GC took place).

This video has four segments:

  • 00:00 - How We Got to Now (includes GC 2016, GC 2019, and Church Disaffiliations)
  • 08:34 - A Helpful Model (Understanding a Variety of Viewpoints)
  • 14:17 - GC Structure (Schedule, Committees)
  • 16:38 - GC Legislation (Major Categories of Submitted Legislation)

Submit Your Questions

We would love to connect with you if you have questions about the changes in our denomination. Please use the form below to submit them, and one of our team members will get back with you

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More Information by Topic

Click the links below to jump to topics of interest:

General Conference Summaries

Video Resources

Written Summaries

Understanding The United Methodist Church

Our Structure & History

2022-We-are-the-church.-TogetherDownload

Our Values & Foundational Documents

Understanding General Conference

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Our North Carolina Conference Delegation prepared this video about General Conference and proposed legislation.

Overview of Legislative Committees that delegates were assigned to for the General Conference in April/May 2024

Constitutional Amendments

Part one of the United Methodist Book of Discipline contains our Constitution, which outlines our foundation and organization. When there is a desire to make changes to the Constitution, we follow a four-step process. Learn more by watching this video. 

Approved Legislation

Regionalization

The bundle of legislation approved at General Conference regarding regionalization is a first step toward restructuring the denomination to be more contextual all around the world – in contrast with current church law which has long been largely U.S.-focused. The regionalization plan creates four defined areas: Africa, Europe, Philippines, and United States, which will be placed on equal footing. The regionalization plan aims to address what many United Methodists see as a longstanding problem limiting the denomination’s missional effectiveness — namely that the church in the U.S. and the central conferences (i.e., churches outside the US) have had unequal standing in decision-making.

In these proposed changes, each region will have the ability to modify part 6 of the Book of Discipline (which is our book of law) to develop policies and practices that reflect their culture, social norms, and legal code. Part 6, which defines the organization and administration of the church, will be amendable while all other parts: our Constitution, Doctrinal Standards, Theological statements, Social Principles, and other sections will remain consistent.

The adopted Worldwide Regionalization plan spells out that each region would have the freedom to adopt its own ordination requirements, its own regional hymnal and ritual including marriage rites, and its own rules related to chargeable offenses and penalties so long as United Methodists are not deprived of their right to a church trial.

As Bishop Tracy Smith Malone, President of the Council of Bishops said, “Regionalization is a pathway to make manifest the world-wide nature of The United Methodist Church. It will expand the Church’s witness, embrace the cultural diversity, strengthen the connection and empower each missional context.”

With the legislation approved, the next step in restructuring involves voting at each Annual Conference around the world. Because the regionalization legislation involves amending the church’s constitution, it has to be approved by at least two-thirds of the total votes cast across all annual conferences worldwide. Voting will start across the denomination later this year.

In the NC Conference, voting on the constitutional amendments will take place at Annual Conference in June 2025, and the full ratification process is likely to be complete late in Fall 2025.

General Conference and the ongoing dialog within The UMC

Articles about Regionalization:

Removal of Restrictive Language

The General Conference voted by overwhelming majorities to remove from the United Methodist Book of Discipline discriminatory language and bans related to ministry by, with, and for LGBTQIA+ people.

It is important to note that these changes passed by large enough margins that their approval would not have been changed by the votes of international delegates who did not receive their travel visas to attend General Conference. 

The removal of restrictive language and the adoption of revised Social Principles reflect a more inclusive and globally-relevant approach. These changes emphasize our denomination's commitment to biblical and theological grounding, advocacy for human dignity, and combating social issues while promoting unity amidst diverse theological perspectives. 

Constitutional Legislation:

General Conference delegates reaffirmed that all people are of sacred worth and are equally valuable in the sight of God, and re-committed The United Methodist Church to be in ministry with all people. This language, as you may be aware, was already in the Book of Discipline as a constitutional principle. Everyone is welcome to worship and actively participate in our congregations. All laypersons may become members and live out their faith through their local church. 

These changes bring the Book of Discipline back to a neutral place where one group is not singled out for discrimination AND make space for differing opinions within The United Methodist Church. 

Delegates also amended the denominational statement on marriage to say, “Within the church, we affirm marriage as a sacred lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith [adult man and woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age] into union with one another and into deeper relationship with God and the religious community.” 

Revised Social Principles at General Conference
Following a debate and amendment to The United Methodist Church’s stance on marriage during the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., Bishop David Graves (right) of the Alabama-West Florida Area presides over a vote to approve Revised Social Principles on May 2 at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Paul Jeffrey/UM News.

This definition was adopted in order to acknowledge the varying laws on same-sex marriage around the world and also to emphasize the importance of ending child marriage, which remains a challenge in some countries. These changes on sexuality and on marriage emphasize consent, mutual respect, monogamy, fidelity, and covenantal relationships. Note that there is still a strong expectation of morality and ethics for the faithful people of our denomination.

As they have traditionally done, conference bishops and their cabinets will consult with clergy and staff-parish relations committees to find the best appointments for both the local church and the pastor. And, as has been the case, pastors continue to have the authority to decide who they marry or not. Additional legislation was passed to ensure that clergy cannot be compelled to officiate at any wedding.

Read More:

Finally, policies were lifted which previously limited the use of denominational funds for ministries supporting LGBTQIA+ persons and limiting the Church’s response to the HIV epidemic. This means that, for example, churches will now be able to more broadly participate in caring for those with AIDS and also to support suicide prevention ministries for persons with varying genders or sexual orientations.

Revised Social Principles

Other Legislative Highlights

Denominational Budget

The proposed 2025-2028 budget for The United Methodist Church that will be presented to the upcoming General Conference is 43% lower than the previous quadrennial budget. The cut marks the largest budget reduction in denominational history. Throughout the 10-day General Conference, that proposed budget could change still further depending on what other measures delegates approve. The delegates will have final say when they vote on the denominational budget on May 3, the last day of the assembly.

Read More:

Read on for details on how this will affect the various ministries throughout the church:

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Trusted Sources For News About The United Methodist Church

We recommend the following sources for factual updates, articles and videos for news about our denomination. You might also consider subscribing to the United Methodist News Service Daily Digest.

Resources from Pre-General Conference

Church Disaffiliations

The disaffiliation policy for churches in the United States that was adopted at General Conference in 2019 and expired in December 2023 was removed at this year’s General Conference. Delegates approved a requirement for annual conferences to enact grace-filled re-affiliation measures for churches that might wish to return to the denomination. Existing policies for churches outside of the US continue. General Conference delegates approved a motion to allow four Eurasian conferences to leave the denomination and form an autonomous church using a section of the Book of Disciple that was already in place.

FVUMC: Overview of the debate within The United Methodist Church presented by Rev. Owen Barrow (Recorded in May 2022)

NC Annual Conference June 2023: Presentation by Rev. Adam Hamilton on future of The United Methodist Church.

Episode 1 - September 2022 - Explains splintering that occurred in The United Methodist Church.
Episode 6 - March 2023 - Excerpts of Bishop Thomas Bickerton’s recent State of The UMC Address, titled Reclaim. Revive. Renew. View the entirety of the Address.
Episode 4 - January 2023 - Find hope even in the midst of local church disaffiliations. Amongst grief and sadness, there is also opportunity. 
Episode 13 - November 2023 - Celebrating new and growing congregations while grieving the loss of local churches that have chosen to disaffiliate. we give thanks for committed United Methodists and their many stories of hope.

Resources on Human Sexuality from PRIOR to General Conference

As members of The United Methodist Church debate the church's stance on human sexuality, Ask The UMC has created a series of FAQs designed to provide accurate answers to the questions received.

Commission on A Way Forward & General Conference 2019