No matter what the next General Conference decides, The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly planned in 2028 is already groundbreaking. “Love Serve Lead: Empowered by the Holy Spirit” is the theme for this conference.
For the first time in The United Methodist Church’s history, a majority of delegates at General Conference will come from outside the United States.
The international group that plans the assembly voted in November to set the number of 2028 General Conference delegates at 708 — with 46% from the U.S. and 54% from Africa, the Philippines, Europe and concordat churches that have close ties to The United Methodist Church.
The commission members also discussed the increasing challenges and long waits faced by people seeking visas to travel to the U.S.
Challenges of Bringing Attendees Together in One Place
Monalisa S. Tuitahi, the commission’s vice chair and an immigration attorney, gave an overview of current U.S. policies related to visa applications and immigration enforcement.
“As a Commission, we strive to provide a place for holy conferencing that allows the ministry of The UMC to move forward, while also caring for the body, mind and soul of attendees,” she said in a report shared with the commission. “This task is layered and complicated in every quadrennium, but it is especially challenging in the current political and social landscape of the U.S.”
With that in mind, the commission is exploring the possibility of operating a site outside the U.S. so elected delegates who cannot get visas still can participate in the body’s decision-making.
Both Fulbright and Call were clear that the General Conference organizers would strive to ensure that all 708 delegates are able to meet together in Minneapolis. But they also want to assure as much participation as possible.
“If the need arises, we’re just going to be extending the bar beyond Minneapolis, and that will be the understanding we are working toward,” Fulbright said.
The commission is just beginning to investigate the potential of using a site beyond Minneapolis.
Determining the Number of Elected Delegates
For now, with the overall count determined, Fulbright plans to notify each of the annual conference secretaries how many delegates their conferences can elect based on the formula in the Discipline.
In collaboration with United Methodist Communications, the commission plans to have a tracker on the General Conference website showing the number of delegates elected and the number of invitation letters sent enabling delegates to begin the visa-application process.
As a baseline, each annual conference gets one lay and one clergy delegate. The delegate distribution reflects broader membership shifts in the denomination. United Methodist membership in the U.S. has declined in recent years because of church disaffiliations, while membership has grown significantly in the Philippines and especially on the continent of Africa.
To calculate slates of delegates, the Discipline requires the General Conference secretary to use annual conference journals submitted to the General Council on Finance and Administration.
The commission also had to decide whether to allocate delegates to Côte d’Ivoire. Last year, the Côte d’Ivoire Conference held a vote to leave The United Methodist Church, citing opposition to recent General Conference actions. The conference subsequently registered with the West African nation’s government as an independent Methodist church.
However, Fulbright said, Côte d’Ivoire has yet to take advantage of the Discipline’s process to become autonomous. With that in mind, the commission still considers Côte d’Ivoire part of the denomination and therefore part of the delegate count.
Even amid all the challenges and complexities General Conference organizers face, Fulbright sees much to celebrate.
Your Generosity Can Continue the Work
By supporting the General Administration Fund apportionment you help support the implementation and administrative oversight for all General Conference sessions. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the General Administration Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
excerpt from a story by Heather Hahn, assistant news editor for UM News.
This story shows the impact of the General Administration Fund—one of seven apportionment funds of The United Methodist Church—to maintain the structures that keep the Church connected, transparent, and accountable. Your church’s support enables the coordination of General Conference, the Judicial Council, and other systems that ensure integrity and stewardship in our shared mission.
When your church supports the General Administration Fund, you help the Church steward its resources wisely and live out its mission with integrity.
