2026 General Conference Planning Update

Global Methodist Church • February 27, 2025

Commission on General Conference Releases Key Details, with More to Come in Future Weeks

The Global Methodist Church is pleased to announce that the Commission on General Conference, under the leadership of Chair Rev. Mike Grant, Vice Chair, the Rev. Dr. Anthony McPhail, and Secretary, Stacy Taylor, is actively engaged in planning all aspects of the 2026 General Conference. As preparations move forward, the Commission anticipates releasing the location, dates, theme, and additional details in the coming weeks.

While many aspects of the event are still being finalized, the delegate allocation process and other key details have already been determined.

Change to In-Person Legislative Committee Meetings

The Connectional Council has approved a plan to hold legislative committee meetings in person and on-site at the General Conference in 2026. This will provide a much superior experience, as face-to-face meetings are more fruitful than virtual ones. It means we will not have to contend with poor internet connections and accommodating drastic time zone differences. To accommodate this change, the conference will be lengthened from five days to seven.

The original plan had been to hold legislative committee meetings online through the summer of 2026 and limit the in-person General Conference to plenary sessions only. This plan was adopted by the 2024 General Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, as part of the Plan of Organization for 2026. At that time, the Commission was operating under the information that none of the venues under consideration could accommodate in-person and on-site meetings of the legislative committees.

As planning continued following the 2024 General Conference, it became necessary for the Commission to consider other locations and venues than the ones originally contemplated. Several of these new venues did have room to accommodate legislative committee meetings, and after visits to the venues, the Commission made the recommendation to expand the General Conference from five days to seven, in order to include the legislative committee meetings.

The original plan for virtual legislative committee meetings was our attempt to make do with a less-than-ideal situation. The Commission welcomed the opportunity to include in-person meetings, as they believe it will be a much better experience for everyone. Following the Connectional Council’s approval of the change, General Conference delegates were polled, and 97 percent of those responding favored the move to a longer conference with in-person legislative committee meetings.

The good news is that this change is not expected to increase the cost of the General Conference. The budget has been adjusted accordingly to accommodate the expanded schedule while ensuring responsible financial stewardship.

Revised Deadlines and Timeline

Besides providing a better experience for everyone, the change to in-person meetings will have dramatic effects on the timeline and deadlines in the original Plan of Organization.

  • The original deadline for electing delegates to the General Conference was 300 days prior to the General Conference. Now, the deadline for electing and certifying delegates to the General Conference will be 150 days prior to the General Conference. This will allow conferences still forming outside the U.S. more time to organize and elect delegates. Most existing conferences will still elect delegates in 2025, based on projected delegate numbers that will be published on April 1, 2025 (see below).
  • The original deadline for submitting petitions was 270 days prior to the General Conference. Now, the deadline will be 120 days prior to the General Conference.
  • The various administrative committees of the General Conference can now be formed 60 days later than originally planned.
  • Originally, legislative committees were to be formed 240 days prior to the General Conference. Now, they will be formed 90 days prior.

Under the new plan, legislative committees will meet once virtually about a month to six weeks before the General Conference. These meetings will allow the legislative committee members to introduce themselves and elect committee officers. The meeting will also include parliamentary procedure training in our rules of order. Having this meeting early will enable the committee officers to be trained prior to the General Conference, and they can begin organizing the committee’s work in advance, so the committees can begin work immediately when meeting on site.

The revised Plan of Organization and Covenant adopted by the Connectional Council is posted online here .

All the linked documents included in this article are available in all six official languages of the Global Methodist Church. You can access them here .

Key Delegate Allocation Details

To support annual conferences in planning and preparing for their delegation process, the Global Methodist Church is providing key information regarding delegate selection and certification timelines.

  • April 1, 2025 – The Commission has set the total number of delegates between 380 and 420. Each annual conference will be sent its projected total to allow for elections, but this will not be the final official total . Most annual conferences will have approximately the same number of delegates in 2026 as they did in 2024. Annual conferences are encouraged to elect delegates in 2025 to facilitate the visa process and early planning. Electing a few extra reserve delegates will provide flexibility in case the final allocation in 2026 increases their delegation size.
  • April 1, 2026 – Deadline for annual conferences to elect and certify their delegates to the General Conference Commission.

The allocation process is guided by key values ensuring:

  • Fair representation of all constituencies based on geography, demographics, and linguistic diversity.
  • Data-informed decision-making to reflect the growth and development of the Global Methodist Church.
  • Financial stewardship to ensure a feasible and sustainable General Conference.
  • Transparency and clarity to foster trust and alignment among all stakeholders.

Resources outlining the range of delegate numbers , allocation values , and selection process can be viewed here.

Looking Ahead to the 2026 General Conference

The Global Methodist Church remains committed to hosting a well-organized and impactful General Conference that reflects its mission:

“To make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness across the globe.”

We are especially looking forward to hosting the 2026 General Conference in Africa, continuing to honor the global nature of our connection and celebrating the diverse and growing body of believers within the GMC.

Financial Support for This Historic Event

Annual conferences, churches, and individuals who are interested in helping financially support this historic event can do so online by visiting this link and selecting “General Conference” under the fund selection. If you prefer to give by check, please include the downloadable form that can be accessed on our website to ensure proper designation to the General Conference.

Checks should be made payable to “Global Methodist Church” and mailed to:

Global Methodist Church
 P.O. Box 1360
King George, VA 22485

For online gifts of $5,000 or more, please email finance@globalmethodist.org to confirm your donation. Our provider will not process large gifts without confirmation from our team that the gift is legitimate.

If you have any questions about fund options, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by email at finance@globalmethodist.org or call 540-898-4960 .

Stay tuned to our social media pages and watch for email announcements as we share exciting updates, including the location, dates, theme, and other important details in the coming weeks!

Related Posts

Update on the Plenary Gathering of Area Committees on Episcopacy

December 11, 2025
Read in French | Read in Korean | Read in Portuguese | Read in Spanish | Read in Swahili December 08, 2025 Dear General Conference Delegations, As chair of the Global Episcopacy Committee (GEC), I am pleased to formally call the 2026 plenary gathering of those selected by their delegations to serve on our future Area Committees on Episcopacy. The purpose of this gathering will be to approve the composition of our 2026–2032 episcopal areas, as directed by BDD ¶604.3. The plenary gathering will be held online on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). The lay member and clergy member you select will meet with their counterparts from other GMC conferences around the world to consider a report from the GEC on the groupings of annual conferences that will share a bishop. Your GEC and the Assembly of Bishops will participate in the plenary gathering with voice but without vote. The exact number of episcopal areas will be announced in early 2026. The GEC’s proposal for the episcopal areas will be based on the data submitted by each delegation. It is our intention to publish our recommendations and rationale prior to the plenary gathering. Approval will require a simple majority vote. Once the map of episcopal areas is approved on May 30, each area committee will enter a virtual breakout room. Members of the GEC will facilitate the election of officers. Each area committee will then begin its work: identifying leadership needs and deciding which episcopal nominees to interview. A full profile of each nominee—including current bishops who are making themselves available for re-election—will be provided. Area Committees will also have access to confidential files made available by the GEC. Each area committee is asked to produce a ranked list of its top five choices by July 22, 2026 . These lists will be shared with the delegates of the General Conference. Nominees who appear on a ranked list may be invited to participate in video interviews. Once gathered in Johannesburg, delegates will elect a bishop to each specific episcopal area. Because this process will repeat every six years, there will be future opportunities to reconsider both the shape of episcopal areas and those who serve them. As you can see, the task entrusted to the Area Committees on Episcopacy is significant. A draft document further defining the responsibilities of these committees is available on the election page of The Beauty of Holiness website . Please keep in mind the following guidelines: A person nominated to be bishop is not eligible to serve on an area committee on episcopacy. While the persons you select must be members of your annual conference, they do not have to be members of your delegation. Please select persons who have reliable internet access and experience with online meetings. This is essential for both the plenary gathering and the candidate interviews. Translation services are being secured for the plenary gathering. However, the ability to communicate across languages will be helpful throughout the process. Those who do not speak the language used by their area committee may need to secure a personal translator or translation service. Those elected to your area committee should be prepared to participate in hours of interviews in June and July of 2026. The time commitment will be significant. Delegations are reminded to submit the following items by March 15, 2026: The names of one lay person and one clergy person selected to serve on your future area committee on episcopacy (please include their e-mail address, clergy/laity status, and languages they speak); A ranked list of ten annual conferences with whom your delegation believes it should be grouped in a shared episcopal area (rationale statements are welcome); Up to one episcopal nominee from your annual conference and up to one episcopal nominee from outside your conference. Thank you for your faithful work in building the Global Methodist Church and spreading scriptural holiness across the globe. Please join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will guide and bless the selection process for our first elected slate of full-time bishops. Grace & Peace, Rev. Dr. Chris Ritter Chairperson Global Episcopacy Committee globalepiscopacycomm@globalmethodist.org

General Conference 2026 Registration & Travel Update

November 20, 2025
General Conference Registration & Travel Update: Everything You Need to Know

General Conference Commission Projects 2026 Delegate Allocation

By Global Methodist Church • March 27, 2025
In order to guide annual conferences in electing delegates to the 2026 General Conference, the General Conference Commission has released its projections of how many delegates each annual conference will have. The official number of delegates for each annual conference will be set in February 2026, based on the number of churches and pastors on January 1, 2026. Most delegates will be elected at annual conference meetings beginning in April, so it was necessary to provide preliminary guidance for how many delegates each conference should elect. Conferences will want to ensure they elect enough alternate and reserve delegates in case their official number increases a year from now. This preliminary allocation sets the number of delegates at 420, which is at the high end of the acceptable range established by the Connectional Council. The allocation is based on estimated church and pastor numbers submitted by each conference superintendent. The big story told by these numbers is the shift in the number of delegates between the U.S. and other parts of the global church, particularly Africa. In 2024, African delegates made up twelve percent of the delegates to Costa Rica. In 2026, African delegates may make up one-third of the delegation. This means the U.S. share may go down from 84 percent in 2024 to 61 percent in 2026, resulting in the loss of some delegates by some U.S. annual conferences. This shift is larger than originally anticipated, as eight more African annual conferences are in development than expected when the number of delegates was set at 380-420. In addition, the number of churches and pastors in the four Nigerian conferences is greater than expected, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (now split into six annual conferences) has also experienced unexpected growth. While Africa had only five annual conferences in 2024 at Costa Rica, they could have as many as 27 annual conferences represented in 2026. However, it is questionable whether all these annual conferences will be able to organize and have their convening conferences by the end of this year. The number of African annual conferences will probably be less than the 27, which will reduce the total number of delegates. Individual congregations throughout Africa will also need to go through the official registration process, which may further reduce their numbers. The same is true of Asia and Latin America, both of which are projected to add two annual conferences each. The General Conference Commission will recommend the final allocation of delegates to the Connectional Council based on actual official numbers, rather than estimates. That final allocation in February could see some delegate numbers shifting slightly up or down. The preliminary allocation of delegates is posted on the Global Methodist Church website here. As annual conferences elect delegates, alternates, and reserves for the 2026 General Conference, we can surround the process with prayer, relying on the Holy Spirit to guide the election of gifted leaders to help our denomination move forward in mission. We can also rejoice at the rapid growth of the Global Methodist Church in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. If all of the projected annual conferences come on line, the Global Methodist Church will be found in more than 27 different countries. We are becoming more global by the day! Reverend Thomas L. Lambrecht serves as the General Conference Secretary for the Global Methodist Church.