2024 General Conference

The Commission on the General Conference has announced that the 2024 United Methodist General Conference will be held April 23 – May 3, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Read more)

General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church which meets once every four years. The conference can revise church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy, and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs.

The Alabama-West Florida Conference delegation to General Conference is chaired by Rev. Emily Kincaid There are 862 delegates to the postponed 2020 General Conference from around the world. The Alabama-West Florida Conference has eight delegates and several reserve delegates. 

The 2020 United Methodist General Conference, originally set for May 5-15, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was postponed three times due to health safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Conference Resources

General Conference Guide
An important resource for delegates, church members and journalists, this guide contains information about the conference schedule, the legislative process and historical background. Download the guide: English | Français | Português

Schedule
The General Conference meets for 10 days beginning Tuesday, April 23 with a pause for Sabbath on Sunday, April 28. The days include legislative committee meetings, reports, addresses, plenary sessions, celebrations, and worship. During the first week delegates will largely meet spread out among 14 legislative committees to consider hundreds of petitions and proposals. Beginning Monday, April 29, delegates meet as a whole in plenary sessions to make decisions that will shape the future of The United Methodist Church. View updated agenda here | View abbreviated version here (this version indicates when there will be live stream)​.

Agenda highlights include:

  • Opening Worship - Tuesday, April 23, 2 pm
  • Episcopal Address - Wednesday, April 24, 8:30 am (delivered by Bishop Jonathon Holston)
  • Young People's Address - Wednesday, April 24 10:55 am
  • Laity Address - Thursday, April 25, 8:45 am
  • Elections to Commission on General Conference, General Agencies, Judicial Council - Monday, April 29
  • Celebration of 80th Anniversary of UMCOR - Tuesday, April 30
  • Closing Worship - Friday, May 3, 6 pm

Advance Edition Daily Christian Advocate & Legislation Tracking
The ADCA contains all legislation submitted for consideration by the delegates at the upcoming General Conference. View ADCA.

Daily Christian Advocate & Legislation Tracking
The Daily Christian Advocate is the most important reference for delegates of General Conference (and those closely following the session). It contains daily transcripts of the conference proceedings, news stories and features, and daily summaries of legislative committee actions. General Conference delegates and first reserves receive free access to the website DailyChristianAdvocate.org. Others may access the site for a one-time fee of $49.99, which allows you to create an account and have ongoing access through General Conference, including legislation tracking. View the DCA   

Following General Conference

There are multiple ways you can follow along with General Conference. 

Live Stream: General Conference will be live streamed at www.UMCGC.org/live
General Conference website: www.UMCGC.org
Alabama-West Florida Conference website: https://www.awfumc.org/2024gc
Social Media: Follow the hashtag #UMCGC 
Subscribe to the Alabama-West Florida General Conference newsletter: https://awf-email.brtapp.com/subscribe

Daily Christian Advocate & Legislation Tracking: The Daily Christian Advocate is the most important reference for delegates of General Conference (and those closely following the session). It contains daily transcripts of the conference proceedings, news stories and features, and daily summaries of legislative committee actions. General Conference delegates and first reserves receive free access to the website DailyChristianAdvocate.org. Others may access the site for a one-time fee of $49.99, which allows you to create an account and have ongoing access through General Conference, including legislation tracking. View the DCA   

Top Tools for Sharing with Your Local Church​

GC by the Numbers Infographic - This one-page infographic provides a quick snapshot of General Conference by the numbers.

The Road to General Conference Infographic - Gain a better understanding of The UMC with this information detailing the church's structure from the local church, to the district, through the annual conferences and beyond with the infographics below. (4 pages)

Video: What is the General Conference? - This video provides a quick overview of General Conference and how it serves the denomination. Watch video

Quick facts to reference: 

  • General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, which meets once every four years. 
  • However, because of the pandemic, the last regular session of General Conference was nearly eight years ago. 
  • General Conference is the only body that can speak for the whole United Methodist Church. 
  • General Conference has the authority to make revisions to the denomination’s Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions.
  • The conference can revise church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy, and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs.
  • During the first week our delegates will largely meet in legislative committees to consider hundreds of petitions and proposals. During the second week delegates meet as a whole in plenary sessions to make decisions that will shape the future of The United Methodist Church. 
  • There are 862 delegates from around the world, half clergy and half laity. Of the elected delegates, 55.9% are from the U.S., 32% from Africa, 6% from the Philippines, 4.6% from Europe (including Russia) and the remainder from concordat churches that have close ties to The United Methodist Church.
  • We have 8 delegates from the Alabama-West Florida Conference participating and voting at General Conference. 
  • There are 1,099 total petitions before the General Conference.
  • This is a wonderful opportunity for Methodists around the world to come together to celebrate our shared mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.