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On April 26, 1940, at a meeting of the General Conference of The Methodist Church, retired Bishop Herbert Welch, in view of the horrific violence of World War II, called for the formation of an agency to respond to the vast needs of human suffering worldwide, and to act as a "voice of conscience among Methodists". The result was the Methodist Committee on Relief (MCOR), which focused on studying the most urgent needs and pressing problems around the world, reporting these needs to the local churches, and administering the necessary funds to "the least of these" through partner agencies and ecumenical networks.

In its first decade of operation, committee members faced troubling questions concerning the allocation of funds, partnerships with non-Methodist organizations, the specific nature of their relief work, and continually generating interest in their cause. Their fears were eased when Americans, eager to help after the United States entered the war, all pulled together to support African, Asian, and European countries devastated by the conflict.

The first ten years of UMCOR (it adopted the title United Methodist Committee on Relief in 1968) saw the organization of several services, endeavors, and initiatives, and saw over nine million dollars, from donations both large and small, make its way to refugees, the homeless, and hungry persons all over the world.

Started only as a temporary relief unit, the committee repeatedly received approval from the General Conference to continue its important work, and eventually, in 1972, became an institutionalized unit of the church and part of the General Board of Global Ministries.

An evolution of focus came about in the following decades, allowing the United Methodist Committee on Relief to reach more people. For instance, whether the problem was earthquakes in Nicaragua, hurricanes in Haiti, famine in Africa, or domestic tornadoes and floods, victims were significantly helped by the Annual Conference Disaster Response System, where coordinators were trained to organize recovery programs and work with government agencies to provide relief. As countries such as Liberia, Rwanda, and Bosnia underwent civil strife, UMCOR was there to rehabilitate and rebuild affected villages and communities. While focusing on disaster relief and refugee resettlements, emphasis was also placed on eradicating the roots of hunger and poverty, with several programs establishing training schools and giving individuals the skills to become educationally and economically self-reliant.

Text taken from the Encyclopedia of World Methodism, Volume 2 and the UMCOR website with permission.

The United Methodist City Society is an organization of local churches within New York City who work in conjunction with other organizations, including the General Board of Global Ministries for the general welfare and outreach ministries of these same churches while pooling their resources. The organization itself predates the Untied Methodist Church and has its roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The United Methodist Publishing House, and its various imprints, is the official publishing organ of The United Methodist Church.

This special committee established by the Uniting Conference of The United Methodist Church in 1968 was responsible for reviewing the structure of the boards and agencies of The United Methodist Church and recommending changes. Many of the changes were enacted at the 1972 General Conference.

The Ministry Study Committee was formed by the General Conference in 1980 to study the nature and ordering of ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. Under the chairmanship of E. Dale Dunlap, the committee was assigned to function under the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and instructed to have a report prepared for legislative action at the General Conference of 1984. Though the Committee's report was approved by the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the General Conference voted it down, and voted for a new commission to continue to study the problem over the next quadrennium.

The Judicial Council is the highest legal body in The United Methodist Church. It rules on the constitutionality and legality of actions of the General, Jurisdictional, Central and Annual Conferences. It rules on decisions made by presiding bishops on questions of law arising in an Annual Conference. It also rules on whether acts of other official bodies of the denomination conform with the Book of Discipline. It acts on these either on appeal of lower rulings or through requests for declaratory decisions. Only General Conferences, Jurisdictional, Central or Annual Conferences, the Council of Bishops or a general agency can petition the Council.

The Council is composed of nine members and must reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the United Methodist Church in the United .States. They are elected for eight-year terms by the General Conference from a slate of nominees submitted by the Council of Bishops. The General Conference also elects six lay and six ministerial alternates to serve in the case of a vacancy. Decisions made by the Judicial Council are final.

In 1939 with the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Protestant Church provision was made in the Constitution for a Judicial Council. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South had such a body in operation since 1934. It served as the model for the Judicial Council of the newly formed Methodist Church. In 1968 with the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church there was no basic change in the function of the Judicial Council.

The purpose of the General Council on Ministries is to encourage, coordinate, and support the general agencies as they serve on behalf of the denomination. The General Council on Ministries was established by action of the 1972 General Conference. Although a new agency, it has it's roots in similar agencies of the Evangelical Church, The United Brethren Church, The Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church.

At its General Conference of 1939, The Evangelical Church voted to organize a General Administrative Council. This council was a successor to the Commission on Finance. In 1917, the United Brethren Church's General Conference established The Board of Administration. It grew out of earlier supervision of various phases of the activities of the church, in particular the programs of stewardship and finance. In 1901, a Christian Stewardship Committee was established to focus on the financial problems of the church. This committee continued to function until 1909, when the scope of the work was enlarged to encompass all of the financial concerns of the church and its programs.

In 1917, the General Conference moved beyond financial issues and under the Board developed a unified approach to all of the programs and tasks of the denomination. The Board coordinated the stewardship, pension, missionary and all other activities of the church.

The Discipline of the Evangelical and United Brethren Church decreed that there would be a Council of Administration, to be known as a General Council of Administration, to coordinate and promote the total program of the church. This new council was the successor of the Board of Administration of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and of the Administrative Council of the Evangelical Church.

In 1951, the General Conference created an Interboard Program Committee composed of at least one representatives from each agency in the church. Although this committee made some progress toward unifying the program of the church, the result was not wholly satisfactory. The Interboard Program Committee was distinct from the Interboard Educational Program Committee, which operated from 1947 to 1951 and coordinated the educational program of the church.

In 1963 the General Conference created the Program Council. The Council was to study the total program of the Church and develop a unified and correlated program for use in the local churches with all age groups. It also was to direct how this program would be implemented and promoted. The Program Council reported to the General Council of Administration and presented its proposals to the council for review, recommendation and approval.

In 1948, the General Conference created the Church Survey Commission to study the programs and policies of the general boards, commissions and service agencies of the recently organized Methodist Church. This commission made report to the 1952 General Conference. At the 1952 General Conference, as a result of recommendations of the Survey Commission, several coordinating agencies were created. The Coordinating Council, The Interboard Commission on the Local Church, and The Commission on Promotion and Cultivation were created, replacing the Council of Secretaries, which became an information-sharing forum.

Among the agencies related to the Council of Ministries were the Department of Research, of the Council on World Service and Finance and the Television, Radio, and Film Commission. The Department of Research resulted from a 1964 reorganization of the Council on World Service and Finance into three departments: The Department of Research, The Department of Records, The Department of Statistics. Previously, it had been the Department of Research and Statistics which, in 1960, had succeeded the Statistical Office. For more information about the history of the Television, Radio, and Film Commission, please consult the finding aid for The General Commission on United Methodist Communications. Methodist Church by the Plan of Union between the Methodists and the E. U. B. connection in 1968. At the 1972 General Conference, the General Council on Ministries was created.

The General Conference has been the supreme governing body throughout the history of the United Methodist tradition. It has generally met once every four years. The General Conferences' origins lie in John Wesley's conferences with his assistants held in England.

The Methodist Tradition. The General Conference traces its origins back to the Christmas Conference of 1784, when the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed. The growth and development of the General Conference in the Methodist tradition may be outlined through three successive periods. The first was from 1792 to 1808, at which time a delegated General Conference came into being. During this first period, every minister was a member of the Conference. The second period was from 1808 until 1940. Even though separate Methodist denominations came into existence, all used delegated General Conferences. These meetings made legislation for the denomination, elected denominational presidents or bishops and acted as a judicial review body.

After 1940, the powers of the General Conference regarding election and judicial review were delegated to new bodies, but it still retained the legislative function for the denomination. The General Conference is still the only organization which can 'speak' for the entire denomination.

The Evangelical United Brethren Tradition. In 1946, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ merged with the Evangelical Church to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

The Church of the United Brethren in Christ began with the preaching of Philip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm in the 1760s.

On September 25, 1800 at a meeting of Otterbein, Martin Boehm, and other lay ministers at the home of Peter Kemp in Maryland , the church was formally organized under the name, "Church of the United Brethren in Christ." In 1815, the first General Conference was held near Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. . A second General Conference was held June 2, 1817 which arranged for quadrennial sessions of the General Conference.

The Evangelical Association of North America was founded by Jacob Albright. Jacob Albright whose itinerant preaching resulted, in 1803, in the organization of a group called "Albright's People" (Die Albrecht's Leute).

In 1807, the first conference was held at Kleinfeltersville, Pennsylvania but it was not until 1816 that the first General Conference was held which, among other activities changed the Church's name to "The Evangelical Association" (Evangelische Gemeinschaft).