Well, to understand how we got to where we are, you need to first understand the structure of The United Methodist Church.
How did we get here?
UMC Structure
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The local church like Metter United Methodist Church is the backbone of our denomination. The local church is where the spiritual rubber meets the proverbial road.
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Each local church is part of a district and the district is given oversight by a District Superintendent. Ours is the Northeast District, and our superintendent is Rev. Steven Grantham.
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Each district is part of an Annual Conference, which is overseen by a bishop. Our conference is the South Georgia Annual Conference, and our bishop is David Graves, who is currently also over the Alabama/West Florida Conference.
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Annual Conferences are grouped together into jurisdictions with ours being the Southeastern Jurisdiction. The primary job of a jurisdiction is to elect bishops to provide leadership and oversight.
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Every four years, our denomination holds a General Conference. Each annual conference elect delegates from their conference to attend General Conference. If you think of annual conferences as states, the General Conference is like the federal government and our Book of Discipline is like our constitution. The General Conference, which is supposed to convene every four years, is the only body that can speak on behalf of the UMC and the only body that can change our theology and doctrine.
where are we now?
To read a summary of the events that led us and other UM churches to begin to discern a different way forward,
click below for an article by Pastor Allen.
To read our Annual Conference's Disaffiliation Policy,