Central Conferences

United Methodists in Africa, Europe and the Philippines have been organized by geographical regions called central conferences long before the U.S. created its Jurisdictions. Central conferences elect bishops, may adapt some parts of the Book of Discipline to fit the ministry needs of their regions, and connect the annual conferences within them for common ministry (Book of Discipline, ¶ 29-32).

Locate Contact information

Use our directory to find information about Central Conference episcopal offices:

Outside the U.S., The United Methodist Church has eight central conferences:

Africa: East Africa, Mid Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa
Europe: Central and Southern Europe, Germany, and Nordic-Baltic-Ukraine
Asia: Philippines

Each of them contains several annual conferences and often several countries. Each has a number of bishops fixed by decision of General Conference. Since the creation of The United Methodist Church in 1968, all bishops are equal, whether elected in the U.S. or outside the U.S. Together they form the Council of Bishops.

In 2024, General Conference adopted constitutional amendments that will allow the U.S. to establish its own central conference, but all central conferences will be renamed regional conferences. These constitutional amendments are submitted to all annual conferences worldwide and need a two-thirds majority of the aggregate votes cast in all annual conferences. Learn more about the amendments at ResourceUMC.org/Regionalization.

Historical Background

The Methodist Episcopal Church established the first two central conferences in Asia (India in 1885, China in 1897). The next was in Europe (1908). Central conferences in Africa and Latin America began in the 1920s.

Concurrently with the establishment of the Africa and Latin America central conferences, some annual conferences outside the United States became or were made autonomous. This happened in Mexico, Japan, Korea, and later, throughout all of Latin America, and all of Asia except for the Philippines, where a United Methodist central conference has remained. For each of the three continents outside the U.S. you will find a short history below.