Disciples Path: Week 4: Day 4 – The Structure and Organization of the UMC

1 Timothy 3:1-7, CEB

This saying is reliable: if anyone has a goal to be a supervisor[a] in the church, they want a good thing.  So the church’s supervisor must be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse, sober, modest, and honest. They should show hospitality and be skilled at teaching.  They shouldn’t be addicted to alcohol or be a bully. Instead, they should be gentle, peaceable, and not greedy.  They should manage their own household well—they should see that their children are obedient with complete respect,  because if they don’t know how to manage their own household, how can they take care of God’s church?  They shouldn’t be new believers so that they won’t become proud and fall under the devil’s spell. They should also have a good reputation with those outside the church so that they won’t be embarrassed and fall into the devil’s trap.

Because this series is doubling as a membership class at the church I ser.ve, I’m giving a brief summary of the organization of the United Methodist Church.  I will also be talking about how our particular congregation, Arlington UMC, is organized.  If you are not a United Methodist, you can receive this as a bit of unnecessary trivia or you can take the day off – your choice.

                The United Methodist Church (UMC) operates on a “connectional” system, a unique structure that links local congregations into a global network for mutual support, accountability, and shared mission. This organization is not a single, centralized hierarchy but a system of checks and balances, similar to a government, with distinct legislative, executive, and judicial bodies at various levels. The foundational law and operational guidelines of the church are detailed in The Book of Discipline.

Governance flows through a series of “conferences,” starting at the local level with the Charge Conference, which oversees a local church or churches. These local churches are part of a District, led by a district superintendent appointed by the bishop. Several districts form an Annual Conference, the basic organizational body of the church, which meets yearly to set regional budgets and elect delegates. In the United States, annual conferences are grouped into five Jurisdictional Conferences, which meet every four years to elect and assign bishops to specific episcopal areas. Outside the US, Central Conferences serve a similar function, with some flexibility to adapt the Discipline to local contexts. The highest legislative body is the international General Conference, which meets every four years with equal lay and clergy delegates to determine church law and official policy for the entire denomination. The Council of Bishops (COB) provides spiritual and executive oversight, while the nine-member Judicial Council acts as the supreme court, ensuring all actions adhere to the church’s constitution. The COB does not officially speak for the UMC as only General Conference is authorized to do this.

Arlington UMC is organized by a central Leadership Council that meets 3-4 times a year in order to supervise the overall ministry of our congregation.  The work horses of every day decisions and actions are handled by four main committees.  The Staff-Pastor-Parish Relations Committee is the human resources arm of the church, handling communication between the Staff (including the Pastor) and the congregation.  They are also the committee that handles communication between the District Superintendent and the congregation.  The Trustees Committee handles almost all property concerns and manages some specialized financial resources (Building Fund, etc).  The Finance Committee provides financial oversight of all funds and is responsible for budgeting and fund-raising.  The Nominating Committee is responsible for filling all these leadership positions on an annual basis.  We also have several specialized committees to provide oversight to specific ministries.  Some example include the Events Ministry Team, The Permanent Endowment Committee, and the Worship Committee. 

If you have any questions about the structure of the UMC or of our congregation, feel free to contact me at pastor@arlington-umc.org.

Prayer:  God, thank you for providing for the United Methodist way of following Jesus.  Today we pray for leaders at every level of the organization from the local congregation all the way to General Conference.  May our Church be led by your Holy Spirit in all we do in Jesus name.  Amen.

Song:  Michael W. Smith – Build My Life