For
more information about the West Ohio Conference click
here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission
around the world:
165
countries where The United Methodist Church is in mission
1,812 mission personnel supported through the General Board of
Global Ministries
80,000 United Methodist Volunteers in Mission placements
102 United Methodist-related community centers and mission colleges
Facts about Annual Conferences in the United States
8,367,631
lay members
43,872 clergy members - including full-time and part-time local
pastors
1,072 consecrated diaconal ministers
1,438,000 preparatory members
35,784 local churches
26,166 pastoral charges
519 districts
66 annual conferences
50 Episcopal areas
5 jurisdictions
3,660,275 Sunday school participants
905,770 United Methodist Women members
249,767 United Methodist Men members
458,125 United Methodist Youth Fellowship members
Health and Welfare Ministries
225
retirement homes and long-term-care facilities
70 hospital and health-care facilities
50 child-care facilities
30 ministries for persons with disabilities
Education
8
two-year colleges
82 four-year colleges
10 universities
13 theological schools
1 professional school
9 pre-collegiate schools
34 Crusade Scholars
In 1999, $4,083,401 in scholarships was awarded to 3,346 students.
Of that amount, $2,551,565 was awarded to 1,935 students at United
Methodist colleges and universities and $3,083,015 was loaned
to 1,326 students.
Facts about the United Methodist Annual Conferences outside the
territorial United States
(for
the Central Conferences that report data)
1,337,619
lay members
3,181 ordained members
517,412 preparatory members
6,781 organized churches
52 conferences
18 Episcopal areas
385,475 Sunday school participants
(All figures are for 1998 unless otherwise noted.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Basic Organization of The United Methodist Church
The
role and function of the local church
The heart of our ministry is continuing Jesus Christ's example
of outreaching love. We witness to the world by living lovingly
and justly as servant of Christ; spreading the good news; and
teaching, healing and caring for God's children.
We are part of the church universal. All persons -- regardless
of race, color, national origin, status or economic condition
-- are welcome to attend our services, to receive Holy Communion
and to be baptized and admitted into membership.
The
role and function of the annual conference
The annual conference is our primary link in the church's connectional
structure. The annual conference meets at least annually. Representing
the basic body of the church, annual conference delegates vote
on all constitutional amendments, on the election of clergy and
lay delegates to General and Jurisdictional conferences, and on
the ordination of clergy and other matters not delegated to the
General Conference. Annual conferences determine their own benevolences
and programs, along with the budgets to support them.
The annual conference is composed of clergy members, lay members
elected by each charge, diaconal ministers, conference presidents
of United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men, conference
and district lay leaders, and presidents or officers of young
adult and youth organizations.
The
role and function of the General Conference
The General Conference, composed of no fewer than 600 and no more
than 1,000 delegates, meets once every four years to determine
legislation affecting connectional matters.
Within the boundaries of the Constitution and General Rules, the
General Conference defines and fixes the conditions, privileges
and duties of church membership, the powers and duties of elders,
deacons, diaconal ministers and local pastor, and the powers and
duties of annual conferences, missionary conferences, Central
conferences, district conferences, jurisdictional conferences,
charge conferences and congregational meetings.
It authorizes the organization, promotion and administrative work
of the church. The General Conference defines the powers and duties
of the episcopacy, authorizes the official hymnal and Book of
Worship, provides a judicial system and procedures, initiates
and directs all connectional enterprises of the church, and enacts
other legislation for the operation of the church.
The
Role and function of the general agencies
The general agencies provide a wide range of ministries to serve
on behalf of United Methodists everywhere.
The Scriptures are experienced anew in your congregation, thanks
to members' involvement in the DISCIPLE Bible series, created
by the General Board of Discipleship and The United Methodist
Publishing House.
Teen-agers in your church are concerned about their peers bringing
guns to school. The General Board of Church and Society offers
ideas to help combat increasing violence in the community.
A meat-processing plant in your town employs a large number of
recent immigrants from Central America. A General Board of Global
Ministries missionary starts a Spanish-speaking fellowship to
nurture their spiritual and physical well-being.
Your grandchild is a high school seni9r, looking toward the future.
Where to begin? The General Board of High Education and Ministry
offers information about United Methodist colleges and universities
and financial aid.
You need good property and liability coverage for your local church.
You obtain information about the United Methodist Insurance Program
from the General Council on Finance and Administration.
A sudden disaster puts families at risk. The UMCOR steps in to
help. The list goes on. United Methodist general agencies may
be located far from where you live, but their presence is felt
at home -- and in the local church -- in many ways.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions
and Answers:
What
is expected of me as a member of The United Methodist Church?
You will be asked to participate faithfully in its ministries
by your prayers, your presence, your gifts and your service .
. . to repent of your sins, believe in God, Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit . . . receive and profess the Christian faith as contained
in the Scriptures of the Old Testament and promise to keep God's
will and commandments.
How
old is The United Methodist Church?
The current denomination was created in 1968 with the merger of
The Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren Church.
The Evangelical United Brethren Church was the result of a 1946
union of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical
Church. The Methodist Church was the result of a 1939 union of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Protestant Church,
and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Where
did the church get its name?
John and Charles Wesley and a few other young men attending Oxford
University met regularly in 1729 to improve themselves intellectually
and spiritually and to help one another become better Christians.
So systematic were their habits of religious duty and their rules
of conduct that other students referred to them as "Methodists."
The word "United" comes from The Evangelical United
Brethren (EUB) Church, which united with The Methodist Church
in 1968.
Where
can I find the basic positions and regulations of The United Methodist
Church?
Two books will be most helpful: The Book of Discipline and The
Book of Resolutions. Both are produced every four years following
General Conference sessions.
The Book of Discipline is our manual of procedures and regulations.
It covers every phase of church life; doctrine; guidance for Christian
behavior; procedure and ritual for becoming a church member or
a minister; details for organizing and administering local churches,
districts and conferences; church-wide boards and agencies; and
rules of church law.
The Book of Resolutions includes statement on social concerns
approved by General Conference delegates.
How
can I get answers to other questions?
Talk to your United Methodist pastor or call InfoServ, the church's
nationwide, toll-free information service at 1(800)251-8140.
Click here for links to United
Methodist organizations for further information about The
United Methodist Church.
