Since the creation of The United Methodist Church, the location of General Conference has rotated among the church’s five geographic U.S. jurisdictions (North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern, Western).
Three cities have hosted the worldwide assembly more than once.
The 1784 Christmas Conference, which formed the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, was held at Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland. The first regular General Conference met again in Baltimore in 1792 and established the cycle of meeting once every four years.
Two hundred years after the Christmas Conference, the 1984 General Conference again met in Baltimore.
Portland, Oregon, was the site of the 1976 and 2016 General Conferences.
Three General Conferences have been held in St. Louis, Missouri — the 2019 Special Session, the 1970 Special Session and the 1988 General Conference.
The 2020 General Conference was postponed until 2024 and met in Charlotte, NC rather than Minneapolis, MN, as originally scheduled. The 2028 General Conference is currently scheduled to be held in Minneapolis, with the possibility of an additional simultaneous in person gathering outside the United States because of travel restrictions. The General Conference Commission is looking to hold the 2032 General Conference outside the United States, if possible.
Sites of United Methodist General Conferences:
1968 Dallas, Texas (Uniting Conference)
1970 St. Louis, Missouri (Special Session)
1972 Atlanta, Georgia
1976 Portland, Oregon
1980 Indianapolis, Indiana
1984 Baltimore, Maryland
1988 St. Louis, Missouri
1992 Louisville, Kentucky
1996 Denver, Colorado
2000 Cleveland, Ohio
2004 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2008 Fort Worth, Texas
2012 Tampa, Florida
2016 Portland, Oregon
2019 St. Louis, Missouri (Special Session)
2020 Charlotte, North Carolina (Postponed to 2024)
2028 Minneapolis, Minnesota with a possible second venue outside the United States
2032 TBA outside the United States
This content was produced by Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications.
