UM News: Your official source of comprehensive information and news about The United Methodist Church.

Top Story

Participants toss beach balls around in a time of fellowship during the SCD 2026 — RISE UP: Love, Serve, Lead conference, held Aug. 2-5 at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio. Discipleship Ministries’ biennial event help equip clergy and lay leaders to plant, revitalize and innovate local churches. Photo by Scott Hughes, Discipleship Ministries.

Church called to ‘rise up’ amid loneliness, AI

Pastors and lay leaders gathered Aug. 2-5 for the RISE UP conference, a biennial event to help equip clergy and lay leaders to plant, revitalize and innovate local churches.

Editor's Picks

Global Health

A patient receives eye medication during a free health clinic organized by The United Methodist Church at the Mwakirunge Dumpsite in the Kilifi District of Kenya. The July 24-26 medical camp was organized by the Inspired Word Mission Center, a ministry of the Kenya-Ethiopia Conference. Photo by Selina Mutua, UM News.

Camp brings healthcare to vulnerable community

More than 600 people living near a Kenyan dumpsite received free medical care through a United Methodist mission center’s outreach.

Mission and Ministry

The Rev. Emily Kvalheim speaks on May 30 outside the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, during a protest to draw attention to people being detained because of their immigration status. Kvalheim is a deacon in the West Ohio Conference and a member of the Task Force on United Methodist Immigration Ministries of Ohio. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Emily Kvalheim.

Deacons take God’s work beyond the church

Deacons are ordained United Methodist clergy called to carry God’s words and works outside church walls. This year marks 30 years since The United Methodist Church declared deacons to be a distinct, permanent order of ministry.

Annual Conferences

Annual Conference Reports

2026 United Methodist annual conference reports

UM News posts the official summaries filed by annual conferences from around the connection. Find the latest reports on our archive page.

Latest News

The Rev. Adam Hamilton has led Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, for 36 years. Hamilton is currently running for the U.S. Senate. Photo courtesy of hamiltonforkansas.com.

Hamilton honored for connectional leadership

Annual Conferences

Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference delegates have unanimously supported a plan to unify the North Georgia and South Georgia annual conferences into one. The newly united Georgia Conference will begin operations in January 2027. Maps courtesy of the South Georgia Conference, adapted by UM News.

Georgia unification gains final approval

Theology and Education

Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel (right center) prays for graduates of The United Methodist Church’s Technical Training Program during a July 1 ceremony in Jalingo, Nigeria, marking the program’s revival after a two-decade hiatus. Seventy-eight trainees graduated the vocational program with skills in electrical installation and welding fabrication. Photo by Joseph Dauda Idris, UM News.

Church relaunches technical training in Nigeria

The Horizon Texas Conference has filed a civil lawsuit against Highland Park United Methodist Church, arguing that the Dallas megachurch made changes to its governing documents in ways that violate denominational rules and circumvent congregational oversight. Photo courtesy of Highland Park United Methodist Church via Wikipedia.

Conference sues its largest congregation

Disaster Relief

Suzette Marzo with the United Methodist Young Adult Fellowship prepares to distribute food to children during a relief operation in Sarangani province, Philippines, after a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Southern Mindanao on June 8, leaving many in the region displaced. The efforts were led by Central United Methodist Church of General Santos City. Photo courtesy of Marife Cambel.

Relief reaches hard-hit areas after earthquake

A patient receives eye medication during a free health clinic organized by The United Methodist Church at the Mwakirunge Dumpsite in the Kilifi District of Kenya. The July 24-26 medical camp was organized by the Inspired Word Mission Center, a ministry of the Kenya-Ethiopia Conference. Photo by Selina Mutua, UM News.

Camp brings healthcare to vulnerable community

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now

More Headlines

The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas makes therapeutic soaps and creams to soothe skin allergies. Photos courtesy of Handmade Luxuries.

A ministry of healing

View More

Leaders of La Trinidad United Methodist Church in San Antonio talk about the church’s 150th anniversary celebration on the morning television show “SA Live” on May 1. Pictured (from left) are Jen Tobias-Struski, host of the program; Carmen Gámez, chair of the church’s anniversary gala committee; the Rev. Nohemí Ramírez, pastor of La Trinidad; and Patricia Mejía, director of impact and inclusion for Spurs Sports & Entertainment. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Nohemí Ramírez.

Historic church embraces new era of ministry

View More

Social Concerns

United Methodist missionary Janet Lahr Lewis (left) visits with Basma Manasra as she and her family harvest olives in 2006 on their farm in the West Bank village of Wadi Foquin. The region has seen increased threats of violence and land confiscation since the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. United Methodists, who have a long partnership with Wadi Foquin, have appealed to the U.S. government to help halt the annexation of Palestinian land and ensure a permanent and equitable peace between Israel and Palestine. File photo by Paul Jeffrey.

Church members urge intervention in West Bank

View More

Mission and Ministry

Living the vision

View More

Members of the Interim Committee on Organization for the U.S. Regional Conference, called I-ROC for short, stand together in front of the Upper Room Chapel at the conclusion of their first meeting together July 16-18 in Nashville, Tenn. The group is responsible for organizing the inaugural session of the U.S. Regional Conference, now planned for spring 2029. Photo by JP Penrod, General Council on Finance and Administration.

Planners set time for US Regional Conference

View More

Commentaries

A United Methodist call to healthy aging

Why I chose to remain in The United Methodist Church

Rising up and loving boldly

When the doors were not yet open

Pastor urges halt to troops’ presence in DC

Love of neighbor drives advocacy in political spaces

Another United Methodist way to look at high court’s voting decision

Helping people ‘hear the Gospel’ in new ways

VIEW MORE

Multimedia

The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas makes therapeutic soaps and creams to soothe skin allergies. Photos courtesy of Handmade Luxuries.

A ministry of healing

Faith, resilience and self-care come together in United Methodist pastor’s unique ministry, which includes a vegan skincare line.

More

Disaster Relief

Lahaina United Methodist Church on Maui lost its sanctuary in the deadly Maui wildfires, but its congregation never lost its faith. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

3 years after wildfire, hope spreads in Lahaina

Mission and Ministry

The Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder offers a blessing to Julia Sugarbaker, a mini goldendoodle, at Pinnacle View United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. Snyder and co-author Gayle Fiser have written a book on how churches can start successful pet ministries. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

How churches can adopt their own pet ministries

Happy Fourth of July! Photo by Mike DuBose; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media graphics from UM News

Mission and Ministry

Holly Petti and her dog Paisley chat with people entering the Sanctuary at Pinnacle View United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. The church has a designated dog greeter every Sunday in addition to numerous pet outreach ministries the congregation offers. Image from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Dog church welcomes people and pets