United Methodist Church

This article is about the current Christian denomination based in the United States. For other uses, see United Methodist Church (disambiguation).

United Methodist Church
Flames licking around a simple black cross
The United Methodist Church "cross and flame" emblem
AbbreviationUMC
ClassificationChristian
OrientationProtestant
TheologyMethodist
PolityConnexionalism[1]
PresidentTracy Smith Malone[2]
SecretaryL. J. Holston[3]
Annual conferences132
Episcopal areas66
AssociationsWorld Council of Churches
Churches Uniting in Christ
Christian Churches Together
National Council of Churches
Wesleyan Holiness Consortium
Christian Holiness Partnership
World Methodist Council
FounderJohn Wesley[4][5] (spiritually)
Origin1968
Merger ofThe Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church
SeparationsNew Methodist Conference (2005)
Ang Iglesia Metodista sa Pilipinas (2011)
Global Methodist Church (2022)
Congregations39,460 (29,746 in the US)[6]
Members9,984,925[6] (5,424,175 in the US[7])
Ministers83,800
Aid organizationUnited Methodist Committee on Relief
Secondary schools10
Tertiary institutions109
Official websiteumc.org

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant[8] denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States.[5][9] As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan.[10] It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.[11][12][13][14]

The United Methodist Church has a connectional polity, a typical feature of a number of Methodist denominations. It is organized into conferences. The highest level is called the General Conference and is the only organization which may speak officially for the UMC. The church is a member of the World Council of Churches, the World Methodist Council, and other religious associations.

As of 2022, the UMC had 5,424,175 members[7] and 29,746 churches in the United States.[6] As of 2022, it had 9,984,925 members and 39,460 churches worldwide.[6] In 2015, the Pew Research Center estimated that 3.6 percent of the U.S. population, or nine million adult adherents, identified with the United Methodist Church, revealing a much larger number of adherents than registered members.[15]

On January 3, 2020, a group of Methodist leaders proposed a plan to split the United Methodist Church over issues of sexual orientation (particularly same-sex marriage) and create a new traditionalist Methodist denomination;[16][17][18] the Global Methodist Church was formed in 2022.[19] Prior to the establishment of the Global Methodist Church, some Methodist congregations had already left the UMC to join the Free Methodist Church, a traditionalist Methodist denomination aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement.[20][21] Other former United Methodist congregations joined various conservative Methodist denominations, such as the Congregational Methodist Church, or became members of the Association of Independent Methodists.[22][23] As of December 30, 2023, the number of UMC churches in the United States that were approved for disaffiliation stood at 7,660. This figure represented approximately one-quarter of the UMC churches in the United States.[24][25] In May 2024, the United Methodist Church General Conference repealed bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage.[26][27]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Robert Leroy Wilson, Steve Harper was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Delgado, Aileen (March 1, 2024). "Bishop Tracy S. Malone set for historic election as COB president". umc.org. COB Office. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Dr. Maidstone Mulenga, Director of Communications (April 29, 2022). "Bishop L. Jonathan Holston". unitedmethodistbishops.org. COB Office. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "The United Methodist Church". University of Virginia. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference UMCofWB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d "United Methodists At-A-Glance". United Methodist Communications. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Statistics for 2022". General Council on Finance and Administration – The United Methodist Church. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  8. ^ "Mainline Denominations". The Association of Religion Data Archives. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Methodist Central Hall Westminster—Methodism was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Longhenry-Wesleyanism was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference UMC-Evangelical was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference EPPC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Oden, Thomas C. (April 5, 2016). The Rebirth of African Orthodoxy. Abingdon Press. p. 21. ISBN 9781501819100. The growth of United Methodism abroad, especially in Africa, is already coming to exercise increasing influence in the American church. ... In Africa UMC churches are full. People walk for miles to hear their preaching. At the current rates, United Methodists in Africa may outnumber church members in the U.S. within a decade or so. ... It is likely that early African Christian wisdom will increasingly influence the curriculum of African seminaries, which currently are biblically evangelical, morally earnest, and service oriented.
  14. ^ Winn, Christian T. Collins (2007). From the Margins: A Celebration of the Theological Work of Donald W. Dayton. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 115. ISBN 9781630878320. In addition to these separate denominational groupings, one needs to give attention to the large pockets of the Holiness movement that have remained within the United Methodist Church. The most influential of these were the circles dominated by Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (both in Wilmore, KY), but one could speak of other colleges, innumerable local campmeetings, the vestiges of various local Holiness associations, independent Holiness oriented missionary societies and the like that have had great impact within United Methodism. A similar pattern existed in England with the role of Cliff College within Methodism in that context.
  15. ^ "Religious Landscape Study". pewforum.org. Pew Research. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Fenton, Walter (January 2, 2020). "Key Bishops and Advocacy Group Leaders Propose Plan of Separation". Wesleyan Covenant Association. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Miller2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Hahn, Heather (February 8, 2022). "Church disaffiliations, court cases mount". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  21. ^ Taylor, Scott (March 4, 2020). "Free Methodists think UMC split could help them grow: Dating from days of slavery, splinter church against 'changing rules to fit their needs'". Northglenn Thornton Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Johnston2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference WBS2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Kate Shellnutt, Daniel Silliman, United Methodists Down 7,659 Churches As Exit Window Ends, christianitytoday.com, USA, December 18, 2023
  25. ^ United Methodist News, Disaffiliations approved by annual conferences, UMnews.org, USA, viewed Dec. 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Hahn, Heather (May 1, 2024). "40-year ban on gay clergy struck down". UM News. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  27. ^ Hahn, Heather (May 3, 2024). "United Methodists remove same-sex wedding ban". UM News. Retrieved May 4, 2024.