Annual Conference

The purpose of the annual conference is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by equipping its local churches for ministry and by providing a connection for ministry beyond the local church. The annual conference consists of clergy and lay members. Clergy membership consists of deacons and elders in full connection, probationary members, associate members, affiliate members and local pastors under full-time and part-time appointment to a pastoral charge. The lay membership of the annual conference shall consists of professing members elected by the charge, diaconal ministers, deaconesses, home missioners, the conference president of United Methodist Women, the conference president of United Methodist Men, the conference lay leader, district lay leaders, the conference scouting coordinator, the president of the conference young adult organization, the conference youth organization, the chair of the annual conference college student organization, one young person between the ages of 18 and 30 from each district and one young person between the ages of 12 and 17 from each district (ΒΆ601, 602.1,.4, The Book of Discipline, 2008).

The annual conference is the basic unit of the connectional system and refers both to a yearly meeting of its members as well as the organizational structure that equips local congregations to do its ministries and provide a connection beyond the local church. Pages organized under the Annual Conference will include both information on annual conference sessions as well as those committees and entities that are organized at the conference level.