From April 23 until May 3, 2024 the General Conference of the United Methodist Church will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina. The General Conference is the legislative body of The United Methodist Church, made of delegates from every annual conference around the world.

In 2024, there will be delegates from all over the world in attendance. The General Conference meets once every four years to make decisions affecting the whole denomination, including decisions of law and official statements about the church’s theology. These decisions result in changes to the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s book of law and policy, and the Book of Resolutions, a collection of church’s official statements on a range of current social issues.

Individuals, local churches, annual conferences, and church agencies, and other United Methodist groups may submit petitions or resolutions to be considered by the General Conference, which the delegates then vote on during the General Conference session. The General Conference is the only body with authority to speak on behalf of the whole United Methodist Church.

 For reference, here is the short description of the General Conference on umc.org: http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/general-conference

Tune in next week to get an insider's view of working at the General Conference.

Today's blog was written by Brian Sigmon. Brian O. Sigmon is editor of United Methodist resources at The United Methodist Publishing House, where he edits books, Bible studies, and official UM resources. In this role he is the editor of the Daily Christian Advocate and managing editor of the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions. Brian finds great joy in helping people of all backgrounds deepen their understanding of Scripture.