This collection is made up of records of the various agencies of the church. It also includes material regarding local churches and annual conferences. The collection is made up of thirteen series. The three largest series which make up the bulk of the collection are the Missionary Society, the Woman's Missionary Society, and the Board of Christian Education.

This collection is made up of administrative records from the Council of Bishops and predecessor organizations. It includes the minutes of the Bishops meetings and their position papers.

Material in this collection that relates to women include records from the World Federation of Methodist Women, notes from Wade's second wife, and an address by Emily Smith. Those records that relate to the World Federation of Methodist Women include articles, correspondence, a constitution, treasurer's reports, and signatures from representatives. The inclusive dates are 1936-1961, with the bulk of the material from the 1940s. Also included in Bishop Wade's papers are travel notes and observations from 1949 by his second wife. There are also several copies of an address given by Emily Smith in 1934 regarding Africa.

This collection consists of sermons, notes, photographs, legal documents, reports, clippings, correponsdence, and an artifact, reflecting mainly Bishop Wade's professional life. Also includes materials relating to the trial and prosecution of Bishop Anton Bast.

There is a microfilm (1892-1946) of his papers and manuscripts located in the library.

This series holds the minutes of the various boards and divisions. Included are the minutes of the board meetings along with committee reports and also the various levels of staff minutes of the agency. The second major section deals with the administrative functions of the board and primarially deals with the various general secretaries's files.

The Mellony Turner papers primarily documents her life as a missionary in Bulgaria. There is a number of records on the American School for Girls in Lovetch, consisting of photographs, textbooks, yearbooks, and financial records. Turner's notebooks and lecture notes are included in the collection. It should be noted that there is a single folder containing information on closing the school. Turner kept diaries during her tenure in Bulgaria as well extensive correspondence. There are general images in both photograph and slide format ranging from the royal family of Bulgaria to her own family in the United States. Turner has a copy of a sermon by Bishop Burt; the bishop who had established the Bulgarian mission at the beginning of the twentieth century. Clippings and other types of publications reflect Bulgarian life and politics. There are eight lectures and a sermon written by Turner. Artifacts are personal in nature, reflecting the clothing and accessories of mid-twentieth century Bulgarian dress. There is a pot in the artifact series as well.

The other series within the collection reflects Turner's immediate family. The few records relating to her parents deal with their will and a folder of letters. Mellony's brother, Ewart Turner's three folders are related to his spying for the United States War Department during the World War II. Though he was ministering to a church in the United States during the war, Ewart was familiar with German communities in Europe and South America. The War Department had Turner collect information on Germans, in the U.S., who were thought to be a threat to national security during the war. This information is elucidated in a correspondence folder.

This collection contains the sermons and prayers of Matthew Simpson Hughes. The sermons, given between 1888 and 1917, document his ministerial career. Hughes placed each of his sermons in an envelope on which he noted the title and the date and location where he preached the sermon. The majority of the sermons were given in Kansas City, Missouri, and Pasadena, California. He also preached in Iowa, Maine, and Minnesota. Most of the sermons are handwritten. Only a few are typed. Many of the sermons contained draft, revision, and alternate copies. There are approximately five hundred sermons in this collection. Some of the topics addressed by Hughes include missions and morality.

Twenty-four sermons have no text reference, and are arranged alphabetically. This includes a lecture on the evolution of women. News clippings, articles, and small note cards were also part of the envelopes. The clippings include Hughes' published sermons which appeared in newspapers, as well as articles and news stories that supported or related to his sermons. The note cards contain brief bibliographic references to works Hughes used in preparing a sermon. The clippings, articles, and note cards have been photocopied onto acid free paper. All the items related to the sermon were kept together and placed in an acid free mini folder with the title and text reference noted on the outside of the folder. The last folder in this collection contains fourteen prayers prepared by Hughes. Eight of these prayers are dated from 1898 and 1902. The remainder are undated.

Mathilde Killingsworth's materials includes several brief biographical materials created for various board reports and a diary/journal from either Mithilde or her sister. There are also correspondence from both her private and professional life. The two articles in the collection reflect both sisters work within the church and Mathilde's obituary. Other record types include portraits of Mathilde and a large collection of photographs and slides taken in Singapore, China, Jackson, and Clarksdale, Mississippi.

The Mary Dumm Papers document her work as a missionary. The bulk of this collection is correspondence written by Dumm to her parents, Elizabeth and Walter Dumm of Madison, New Jersey. Dumm wrote to her parents on a weekly basis while she was in India, and this correspondence is from 1959 to 1972. Several letter indices were included with the letters. These were probably prepared by her parents, but are not complete for the entire years. Also included in the correspondence are several postcards from a trip Dumm took to Europe in 1969. Other correspondence included in this collection is addressed to her parents and concerns Mary's work. Some of these letters were written by individuals who had visited or who had contact with Dumm while she was stationed in India. The remaining letters addressed to her parents are from the Vellore Christian Medical College Board, the Women's Division of Christian Service of the Board of Global Ministries, and "Dear Friends" letters from other missionaries in India.

There are numerous news clippings regarding Dumm's work, life, and accounts of talks and presentations on her missionary experience in India. All the clippings have been photocopied from the originals because of deterioration. Programs and newsletters also document some of these presentations. Twenty-five black and white photographs are also included. All have been identified and dated. The second part of this collection documents the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India. Items in this section of the papers include publications, articles, miscellaneous materials such as brochures, book announcements, pamphlets, and news clippings.

The Luddwell Hunter Estes Papers contains the assorted papers, photographs, and writings of Ludd Estes. Together these materials document the life work of Mr. Estes and represent the variety of positions he held within the denomination.

The collection includes clippings that pertain mainly to the union of the Methodist Church, a eulogy for Lawson, program for "Judge Lawson Day" at the Liberty Methodist Church, opinions of the Court of Appeals, court decisions, and an original signed copy of the opinion of the Judicial Council of the Methodist Episcopal Church South on the matter of the unification of Methodism. The collection also includes several booklets and periodicals; an October 1932 edition of the newspaper Christian Standard, Volume 7 of The Methodist Layman for 1930, a June 1956 edition of the Missouri Methodist, a 1939 edition of the Christian Advocate and several other booklets discussing Methodism. There are many letters, to and from Martin E. Lawson, photographs, a biography of the judge and ephemera concerning the fifth and sixth Ecumenical Conferences.