United Methodist Church to host first-ever general conference in 2 locations

For the first time, the United Methodist Church will hold its next denomination-wide lawmaking gathering in two locations: one in the United States and one in Africa.

Every four years, the global UMC holds a General Conference to handle churchwide business and fellowship. The only exception was 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. That General Conference was pushed to 2024. 

The UMC Commission on the General Conference announced Tuesday that the 2028 General Conference will be held in both Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Harare, Zimbabwe, to better accommodate African delegates whose travel complications keep them from attending in Minneapolis.

The commission said it chose Harare because of its strong UMC presence, Africa’s large and growing United Methodist community, and the easier visa access the city offers delegates from other African nations.

The two sites will operate concurrently, the commission explained, so delegates can work together on tasks in real time.

Interim General Conference Secretary Emily Allen said that she appreciated “the hard work done by the staff and Commission to research and review possibilities on multiple continents, then choose the final location.”

“The Alternative Task Team has worked since November 2025 to explore site options, and partnered with insights from the connectional relations committee, we were able to present vetted options on which the Commission could vote,” Allen said.

“Commission members set a high bar to meet the needs of our diverse, global church,” she added. “While there is confidence in the site selected, getting to the decision required careful listening and weighing each potential site’s benefits and limitations.”

Over the past few decades, as UMC membership and congregations in the U.S. have continued to decline, the denomination has seen considerable growth in Africa.

In contrast to the mostly theologically progressive UMC population in North America, African United Methodists tend to be more theologically conservative, especially on issues of sexual ethics.

For example, after the 2024 General Conference voted to remove the denomination’s prohibitions on blessing same-sex unions and ordaining noncelibate gay clergy, a gathering of African bishops reaffirmed support for those bans.

Last November, the UMC passed an amendment allowing its regional conferences to make their own edits to certain parts of the UMC Book of Discipline that apply to their part of the world. As a result, African churches can continue to enforce biblical standards on sexual ethics and remain part of the UMC.