General Conference organizers are hoping the second time is the charm for heading to Minneapolis.
They chose to hold the next session of The United Methodist Church’s top lawmaking assembly on May 8-18, 2028, in the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Your support of The General Administration Fund apportionment implements trustworthy administrative oversight like the General Conference sessions.
General Conference, which typically meets every four years, brings together elected delegates from around the globe to make decisions that affect some 10 million United Methodists, who live in more than 100 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.
In choosing Minneapolis, the commission also hopes to reduce costs and help make up for a $1.8 million budget deficit inherited from multiple earlier General Conference sessions.
During the May 9-10 online meeting, the Rev. Moses Kumar gave the current commission an overview of General Conference finances. Kumar serves as both General Conference treasurer and the top executive of the General Council on Finance and Administration.
He told the commission that he will join Fulbright and other General Conference organizers in asking GCFA, the denomination’s finance agency, to help cover the costs of the coming General Conference.
The bulk of funding for General Conference as well as GCFA comes from the General Administration Fund, one of seven funds that support denomination-wide ministries. Annual conferences, church regions consisting of multiple congregations, support these funds through apportionments — shares of church giving they in turn ask from congregations. The General Administration Fund reserves cover the General Conference deficit, but reserves aren’t endless.
Putting on a typical General Conference costs between $10 and $12 million, said the Rev. Andy Call, commission chair and lead pastor of Christ of the Saviour United Methodist Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. However, the overall 2025-2028 denominational budget, approved by last year’s General Conference, is significantly smaller than the one passed in 2016. The funding available to the current commission for the next General Conference is about $7.3 million in the denomination’s current budget.
The first part will be reducing costs, he said. One way the current commission saves money is by holding more of its planning meetings online.
The second part is increasing revenue to help defray the costs. General Conference organizers agreed to work with GCFA to bring more sponsors and vendors to General Conference. Sponsors will have displays at the gathering and perhaps underwrite some of the special celebrations included as part of General Conference.
GCFA staff will work to recruit the sponsors and work with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the denomination’s social witness arm, to ensure those sponsors are in line with the denomination’s Social Principles adopted by General Conferences.
GCFA will receive a 20% commission on the gross revenue that the agency secures for the event. General Conference organizers also will be responsible for paying two staff from GCFA to be onsite during the event to coordinate with sponsors and vendors.
But even with those costs included, GCFA staff are confident they can raise at least $600,000 to help cover the legislative assembly’s costs.
The General Conference commission knows many were hoping for the next assembly to be outside the United States and to be later in the year, so it did not overlap with the academic calendar.
Both of those goals proved infeasible in 2028. However, Call said, the commission is committed to exploring every possibility for going outside the U.S. in 2032. The hope is to secure a location that is welcoming to all and able to hold a gathering of 3,000 people, with minimal visa challenges.”
excerpt from a story by Heather Hahn, assistant news editor for UM News
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the General Administration Fund implements trustworthy administrative oversight, supports the legislative processes of the church and curates The United Methodist Church’s rich history. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the General Administration Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
