Commission on the General Conference
The United Methodist Church
For Immediate Release
November 12, 2025
Delegate Counts for 2028 General Conference Announced
Minneapolis, MN - The Secretary of the General Conference, the Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright, has announced that the calculation and review process for the delegate count of the 2028 General Conference meeting has been completed. 708 delegates will represent their respective regional conferences at the next legislative gathering scheduled for May 8-18, 2028. The process was presented, and the Commission on the General Conference voted during their fall in-person meeting to set the delegate count.
“The 2028 event will mark the first time that the majority of delegate seats will be filled by persons living outside of the United States,” shared Fulbright. “The Regional Conferences will collectively have 382 delegates (including concordat) which represents 54% of the total delegate count. The U.S. Regional Conference, made up of five jurisdictions, will collectively have 326 delegates giving them 46% of the total delegate count.”
“The 2028 General Conference will see a reduced number of delegates in comparison to the 862 for the 2020/2024 General Conference,” said Commission Chair, the Rev. Andy Call. “I’d like to thank the secretary of the General Conference, the business manager and the data services team who worked closely with bishops and annual conference secretaries to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the delegate count."
Fulbright added that “I pray that our members will join the Commission in celebrating the completion of this work and what it represents. This is a time to celebrate that we are truly becoming a worldwide church. We celebrate the moving of God’s Spirit that has led to growth in and throughout Africa. We celebrate that there have been new regional conferences established, with new annual conferences created. We also celebrate the ways Regionalization will continue to inform how we will be The United Methodist Church into God’s faithful future.”
The 708 delegates will be distributed throughout the Regional and Jurisdictional Conferences as follows:
By Dec. 15, 2025, resident bishops and annual conference secretaries will have received their count information. The Commission will release the overall delegate counts by annual conference in early 2026.
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About General Conference
General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, which meets once every four years. The conference can revise church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs.
About The United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a worldwide connection of close to 10 million members in over 100 countries, with a presence in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. United Methodists are people of God who share a common mission and values. The church and its members are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We reach out to a hurting world through a dedicated focus on mission and ministry. Our tagline "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." reflects who we are and how we seek to put our faith into action. Learn more at umc.org.
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