World Methodist Council

World Methodist Council
Logo
Logo
AbbreviationWMC
TypeCommunion
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationMethodist
ScriptureProtestant Bible
TheologyWesleyan
General SecretaryRevd. Dr. Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto
PresidentBishop Debra Wallace-Padgett
Vice-PresidentJoshua Rathnam
Origin1881
Members40–51 million (self-reported)
Official websiteworldmethodistcouncil.org

The World Methodist Council (WMC) is a consultative body that represents churches within Methodism and facilitates cooperation among its member denominations. It comprises 81 denominations in 138 countries which together represent the majority of Methodists worldwide, along with united churches that include Methodist traditions. Altogether, its members make up the ninth-largest Christian communion.

History

The World Methodist Council was founded at a conference in London, England, at Wesley Chapel, in 1881. Four hundred delegates from 30 Methodist organizations around the world attended. Subsequently, world conferences were held every ten years. In 1956, the Council established its permanent headquarters in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, in the United States. In 2021, the Council sold its headquarters, which included a museum, and moved to Waynesville, North Carolina.

The WMC has stated, since 2018, that its member churches represent approximately 80 million people. In 2020, World Christian Database, the online version of the World Christian Encyclopedia, published by Edinburgh University Press, reported that the World Methodist Council had 70,226,000 members. However, according to statistics released by the WMC itself in 2014, the sum of the statistics of the member denominations themselves, as well as several independent sources, the number of Methodists worldwide is close to 40 - 51 million people.

In 2024, the Thailand Union Methodist Church was received as the 81st member denomination.

Affiliated organizations

Affiliated organizations are the World Fellowship of Methodist and Uniting Churches, the Oxford-Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, the World Methodist Historical Society, World Council of Confederation of Methodist Youth, the World Council of Methodist Men, World Methodist Council of Teens, the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women.

Members

In 2016, the World Methodist Council was made up of 80 member denominations:

Countrydenominational subfamilyDenominationNumber of membersYear
InternationalMethodistUnited Methodist Church
  • Central African Conference
  • Central and Southern European Central Conference
  • Congo Central Conference
  • German Central Conference
  • Northern Europe Central Conference
  • Philippines Central Conference
  • West Africa Central Conference
  • US Conferences
  • Liberia Conference
 11,299,0002025
InternationalMethodistChurch of the Nazarene2,764,2052025
InternationalMethodistAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church1,432,7952014
InternationalMethodistWesleyan Church140,9542017
InternationalMethodistFree Methodist Church1,547,8202018
InternationalMethodistAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church2,500,0002014
South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and NamibiaMethodistMethodist Church of Southern Africa2,600,0002014
ArgentinaMethodistEvangelical Methodist Church in Argentina5,5992017
AustraliaMethodistChinese Methodist Church in Australia3,5882014
AustraliaMethodistWesleyan Methodist Church of Australia2,4522014
AustraliaUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists)Uniting Church in Australia243,0002018
BahamasMethodistBahamas Conference of the Methodist Church1,9002014
BangladeshMethodistBangladesh Methodist Church18,2012014
BelgiumUnited Churches (Continental Reformed and Methodist)United Protestant Church in Belgium3,4012014
BeninMethodistProtestant Methodist Church in Benin90,0002014
BoliviaMethodistEvangelical Methodist Church in Bolivia9,0532014
BrazilMethodistMethodist Church in Brazil262,4492022
CanadaUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Methodists)United Church of Canada325,3152023
CaribbeanMethodistMethodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas62,1202014
ChileMethodistMethodist Church in Chile9,8822014
China (People's Republic of China)United Churches (Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists)Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China36,0002016
China (People's Republic of China)MethodistMethodist Church, Hong Kong12,0002014
ColombiaMethodistColombian Methodist Church1,0002014
South KoreaMethodistKorean Methodist Church1,106,3852023
Costa RicaMethodistEvangelical Methodist Church in Costa Rica16,0002014
Côte d'Ivoire Methodist United Methodist Church of Ivory Coast 1,018,402 2026
CubaMethodistMethodist Church in Cuba33,0002014
Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo)MethodistFree Methodist Church of the Democratic Republic of the Congo151,6952014
Dominican RepublicMethodistEvangelical Church of the Dominican Republic10,0002014
EcuadorUnited Churches (Presbyterians and Methodists)United Evangelical Church of Ecuador1,5002014
SpainUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Waldensians, Methodists and Lutherans)Spanish Evangelical Church3,0002014
FijiMethodistMethodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma212,8602014
GambiaMethodistGambia Methodist Church2,0002014
GhanaMethodistMethodist Church Ghana634,6892014
IndiaMethodistMethodist Church in India648,0002014
IndiaUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Anglicans, Methodists and Disciples of Christ)Church of North India2,300,0002025
IndiaUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Continental Reformed, Anglicans and Methodists)Church of South India5,000,0002020
IndonesiaMethodistMethodist Church in Indonesia119,0002014
IrelandMethodistMethodist Church in Ireland15,0002014
ItalyMethodistMethodist Evangelical Church in Italy4,0002014
KenyaMethodistMethodist Church in Kenya450,0002014
MalaysiaMethodistMethodist Church in Malaysia97,1972014
MexicoMethodistMethodist Church of Mexico40,0002014
MyanmarMethodistMethodist Church, Lower Myanmar2,3002014
MyanmarMethodistMethodist Church, Upper Myanmar27,5432014
NepalMethodistNepal Methodist Church2642014
NigeriaMethodistMethodist Church of Nigeria2,000,0002014
New ZealandMethodistMethodist Church of New Zealand14,7362014
New ZealandMethodistNew Zealand Wesleyan Methodist Church7942014
PakistanUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and Anglicans)Church of Pakistan1,900,0002020
PanamaMethodistEvangelical Methodist Church of Panama1,3002014
ParaguayMethodistMethodist Evangelical Community of Paraguay1,0252014
PeruMethodistMethodist Church of Peru32,0002014
PhilippinesMethodistEvangelical Methodist Church in the Philippine Islands27,7932020
PhilippinesUnited Churches (Presbyterians, Baptists, Disciples of Christ and Methodists)United Church of Christ in the Philippines470,7922020
PortugalMethodistPortuguese Evangelical Methodist Church1,2002014
Puerto RicoMethodistPuerto Rico Methodist Church12,0002014
RwandaMethodistRwanda Free Methodist Church108,5592014
SamoaMethodistSamoa Methodist Church35,9832014
Sierra LeoneMethodistSierra Leone Methodist Church50,0002014
Sierra LeoneMethodistWest African Methodist Church in Sierra Leone4,0002014
SingaporeMethodistMethodist Church in Singapore38,0002014
Sri LankaMethodistMethodist Church in Sri Lanka25,0002014
SwedenUnited Churches (Baptists, PT and Methodist)Uniting Church in Sweden58,5692021
Taiwan (Republic of China)MethodistMethodist Church in the Republic of China4,5002014
TanzaniaMethodistTanzania Methodist Church3,6812014
ThailandMethodistThailand Union Methodist Church3,0002024
TogoMethodistTogo Methodist Church75,0002014
TongaMethodistFree Wesleyan Church38,6922014
United KingdomMethodistMethodist Church in Great Britain136,8912022
United States of AmericaMethodistChristian Methodist Episcopal Church858,6702014
ZambiaUnited Churches (Presbyterians and Methodists)United Church of Zambia4,000,0002024
ZimbabweMethodistZimbabwe Methodist Church111,7232014
ZimbabweMethodistAfrican Methodist Church of Zimbabwe12,0002014
GlobalSub-totalMethodists28,570,1692014-2025
GlobalSub-totalUnited Churches14,341,5772014-2025
GlobalTotalWorld Methodist Council45,289,4772014-2025

Member Profile

  1. United Methodist Church (18.8%)
  2. Other Methodist denominations (45.9%)
  3. United Churches (35.3%)

The WMC is made up of around 81 member denominations.

In 2014 it was estimated that together, the member denominations had about 39,745,196 members and 51,286,152 adherents.

According to the most up-to-date statistics available, among member denominations, the United Methodist Church represents 18.75% of individual members, other Methodist churches are 45.91% and united churches represent 35.34% of individual members.

However, some of the largest WMC member denominations face a rapid decline in membership between 2000 and 2024.

In 2018, the WMC disclosed that its 80 member denominations represented an estimated 80 million people These numbers would supposedly include around 60 million members and 20 million adherents.

However, the 2018 figures contradict all independent statistics based on national censuses, as well as the combined statistics released by member Methodist and United churches themselves. According to several independent sources, Methodist churches have about 40 million members worldwide.

A 2011 report by the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life estimated that members of Methodist churches (excluding United churches) represent 3.5% of the world's approximately 801 million Protestants, or about 27,234. 000 people.

According to Christianity Global: A Guide to the World's Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, in 2020, there were 31,683,000 Methodists in the world (not including United Churches), corresponding to 0.4% of the global population and 14,706,000 members of the Holiness Movement (0.2% of the world population), with a total of 46,389,000 members of the Methodism and Holiness Movement, or 0.6% of the global population .

The WMC does not represent all Methodists in the world and the organization's member united and uniting churches total only 14.3 million members, according to their own denominational statistics.

Therefore, WMC statistics from 2014 are considered more reliable compared to independent sources.

Beliefs

Marriage

Among the 81 member denominations, 7 permit or support same-sex marriage or blessings for same-sex unions. These are: United Methodist Church, Methodist Church of Great Britain, Spanish Evangelical Church, United Church of Canada, Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church in Sweden, and United Protestant Church in Belgium.

World Methodist Conference

The highest organ of the World Methodist Council is the World Methodist Conference, which meets every five years. The 22nd Conference was held in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2024. The theme was 'On the Move' and focussed on migration.

The 21st Conference was held in 2016 in Houston, Texas in the United States. The theme was "ONE". Organized around four sub themes – One God, One Faith, One People, One Mission.

The 2011 conference, gathered under the theme "Jesus Christ - for the Healing of the Nations", was held in August 2011 in Durban, South Africa. On 24 July 2006, Sunday Mbang stepped down as chairperson of the council and John Barrett took over his position as well as elected president for the council.

In 2006, it formally approved the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

World Methodist Council officers

Current officers are:

The World Methodist Council has offices in Methodist Central Hall Westminster, London.

Activities

Continuous activities

The World Methodist Council has eight standing committees:

Peace award

The World Methodist Peace Award is the highest honor bestowed by Methodists around the world. Since 1977, it is given annually by the World Methodist Council. This award is given to individuals or groups "who have made significant contributions to peace, reconciliation and justice".

Recipients of the World Methodist Peace Award include Habitat for Humanity International, Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Boris Trajkovski, former President of Macedonia; the Community of Sant'Egidio in Rome, and the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina.

Former World Methodist Council Museum near the office building (hardly visible on the left) of its former headquarters at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina; nearby is a small park, the Susanna Wesley Garden

Evangelism institute

One ministry of the World Methodist Council is the World Methodist Evangelism Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. It is an educational institution committed to the task of world evangelization and connected to a major university, Candler School of Theology, Emory University.

Former headquarters and museum

In the 1950s, area residents and Methodists from the Southeastern United States raised money for the construction of a building in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina to attract the World Methodist Council headquarters. Until the 1970s, the museum building was to go to the Lake Junaluska Assembly if no longer needed, although that plan was changed. The Royce and Jane Reynolds Headquarters building, intended to resemble the house where John Wesley lived when he was young, was added in the 1990s after a donation from the Reynolds family. The museum housed letters written by Wesley, a pulpit Wesley used, and a 1594 Geneva Bible, as well as ancient items from the Holy Land. Starting in 2013, with the museum having problems, the sale of the building was considered but the assembly made no formal offer. The COVID-19 pandemic finally made closing the museum necessary, and its contents went to Bridwell Library of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In Spring 2021, the World Methodist Council sold its headquarters building, including a museum, to the assembly for $1.25 million. The World Methodist Council moved to offices in nearby Waynesville, North Carolina.

At a Lake Junaluska Board of Trustees meeting in March 2022, Lake Junaluska Executive Director Ken Howle announced a $1.1 million gift from Anne and Mike Warren, who also gave $625,000 toward the purchase of the headquarters building and part of the Susanna Wesley Garden next door. The gift from the Warrens helped with $2.5 million in renovations to what is now called the Warren Center, for smaller group events.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "General Secretary - World Methodist Council". 14 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Heather Hahn (11 September 2024). "Methodist council defines association rules". Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  3. ↑ Jennifer Woodruff Tait, Christopher J. Anderson, Historical Dictionary of Methodism, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2024, p. 405
  4. 1 2 3 Hyatt, Vicki (16 June 2021). "Benefactors discuss significance of World Methodist Council building". The Mountaineer. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "About Us - World Methodist Council". worldmethodistcouncil.org. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Member Churches - World Methodist Council". worldmethodistcouncil.org. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "World Christian Database | Brill". worldchristiandatabase.com. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 "Statistics of World Methodist Council". 9 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 "World Methodist Council". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Winfield Bevins (10 September 2019). Marks of a Movement: What the Church Today Can Learn From the Wesleyan Revival. Zondervan. p. 151. ISBN 9780310093251. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 F. Belton Joyner, Jr. (1 September 2010). The Unofficial United Methodist Handbook. Abingdon Press. ISBN 9780310093251. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Timothy Paul Jones (3 May 2022). Christian History Made Easy Participant Guide. Rose Publishing. p. 100. ISBN 9781596366008. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Methodism". First Families. Archived from the original on 16 July 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  14. ↑ "Minutes of the 21st World Methodist Conference" (PDF). 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "United Methodists At-A-Glance | UMC.org". The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "Growth of the Church of the Nazarene, 2015-2025:Annual Statistics from the General Secretariat Report". Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Jubilee of the Wesleyan Church". 7 May 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  18. ↑ "Free Methodist Church Statistics". Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  19. ↑ "Minutes of the XXV General Assembly of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Argentina" (PDF). 18 August 2017. pp. 109–113. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  20. ↑ "Official data of the United Church in Australia". Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "National Statistics: the challenge and reality of your data". Christian Expositor. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  22. ↑ "United Church of Canada Statistics 2023" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  23. ↑ "Member Church Feature: Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China". Council for World Mission. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  24. 1 2 "General Assembly of Major Religious Organizations 2025: Korean churches failed to break the vicious cycle of declining membership". 30 September 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "United Methodist Church of Ivory Coast | World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. 1 January 1987. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
  26. ↑ "Cote de Ivoire, United Methodist Church » Member Churches". World Methodist Council. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "Demographics of the Church of North India". Archived from the original on 13 July 2025. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  28. ↑ "South Indian Church". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  29. ↑ "Church of South India Celebrates 75th Anniversary, Calls for an End to Discrimination Against the Outcast". 11 October 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2025. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  30. ↑ "Anglican Communion Detail". www.crockford.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  31. ↑ Church of England Year Book 2020 : A Directory of Local and National Structures and Organizations and the Churches and Provinces of the Anglican Communion. Church House Publishing. 2019. ISBN 9780715111574.
  32. ↑ "Church of Pakistan". World Council of Churches. January 1971. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  33. ↑ "2020 Philippine Census". Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  34. ↑ "2020 Philippine Census". Philippine Statistics Authority. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  35. ↑ "Churches flourish in one of Sweden's Biblical Button cities taking care of neighbors". 11 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  36. ↑ "Member Church Application The Thailand Union Methodist Church" (PDF). Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  37. ↑ "Statistical Summary of the Methodist Church of Great Britain for October 2022" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  38. ↑ "CWM Visits United Church of Zambia, Praises Strong Missional Outlook". 15 August 2024. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  39. ↑ "United Church of Zambia". World Council of Churches. January 1966. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  40. ↑ "About the World Methodist Council". Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  41. ↑ ""More than 200,000 members are leaving mainline denominations" The decline of Korean churches is becoming a reality". 24 September 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  42. ↑ "United Methodist Church membership in the US falls 21.9% in 2023". 23 November 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  43. ↑ "Member Churches". Worldmethodistcouncil.org. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  44. ↑ "Member Churches". World Methodist Council. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  45. ↑ Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life (19 December 2011), Global Christianity (PDF), pp. 21, 70, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2012
  46. ↑ Gina A. Zurlo (2022). Global Christianity: A Guide to the World's Largest Religion from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. 5. ISBN 9780310113614. Retrieved 2 January 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  47. ↑ "New structure of the United Methodist Church ratified". 5 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  48. ↑ "Methodist Church votes to accept same-sex marriage and affirm cohabitation". Premier Christianity. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  49. ↑ "Spanish Evangelical Church denounces pressure for its position in favor of LGTB". La Vanguard. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  50. ↑ Juan Carlos Senent San Segundo (31 December 2015). "Inclusive Spanish Protestantism: the case of the Evangelical Church Spanish". Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  51. ↑ "United Church of Canada endorses gay marriage". 14 August 2003. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  52. ↑ Ben Nielsen (26 May 2019). "Uniting Church threatens to split over liberal same-sex marriage stance". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  53. ↑ Ingrid Byström (26 August 2021). "United Church of Sweden may require all congregations to celebrate same-sex marriages". Valdenidag. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  54. ↑ Emelie Lau (7 September 2021). "Same-sex marriage requirement is not the way forward for the Church of Equmenia". Dagen. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  55. ↑ "United Protestant Church of Belgium allows blessings for same-sex unions and ordination of homosexuals". 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  56. ↑ "Belgium – Protestant Church: blessing of same-sex marriage is permitted". 28 November 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  57. ↑ "Welcome to the Conference". The World Methodist Conference. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  58. ↑ "Press and Media - About the 21st World Methodist Conference (past)". The World Methodist Conference. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  59. ↑ "2011 World Methodist Conference". Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  60. ↑ LaBarr, Joan B. (24 July 2006). "World Methodist Council elects Barrett as chairperson". United Methodist Church. Archived from the original on 10 October 2006.
  61. ↑ "World Methodist Peace Award". Museum of Methodism and John Wesley's House. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  62. ↑ "Here's to 100 more years for Lake Junaluska". Asheville Citizen-Times. 8 July 2013. p. A7 – via newspapers.com.
  63. ↑ "Lake Junaluska announces $1.1M gift for renovations to former World Methodist Council building". lakejunaluska.com. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  64. ↑ Johnson, Becky (22 December 2022). "Making the grade: Lake Junaluska continues multi-million dollar upgrades with new event venue". The Mountaineer.

Notes

  1. ↑ Each of the internal conferences listed is considered a member of the World Methodist Council, even though it is a body part of the United Methodist Church.
  2. ↑ adherents are unbaptized people who participate in worship services. In Credobaptist denominations, the children of members, not yet baptized, are counted as adherents.
  3. According to the denomination's statistics, it had 4,246,312 members (3,988,810 professed members and 257,502 baptized members) in the United States of America, in 2024. The most recent number released for other countries was 4,560,882 members in 2022. However, the denomination itself published that it lost 1.2 million members with the disaffiliation of the Ivory Coast Conference in 2024, which is why the number of members outside the US did not exceed 3,360,882 members at the end of 2024. Therefore, its global membership in 2024 was approximately 7,607,194.

Bibliography