It collects the apportionments, money paid by local churches to support the mission, administration and agencies and boards of The United Methodist Church, and sees that these funds are distributed to the appropriate agencies. It helps train representatives from local churches in evangelism, discipleship, mission outreach and lay ministry. And ministries such as camping, campus ministry and United Methodist Youth organizations are centralized within the Annual Conference structure. This is a fundamental difference between our denomination and most other Protestant religions. Leaders aren't effectively supported.
Leadership suffers, and when leadership suffers, congregations suffer.
By the mid-1990s, it was obvious that, for many, the Annual Conference structure in Minnesota was no longer functioning well. Pastors and churches voiced dissatisfaction with the Conference, said Aileen Williams, a member of the Conference Restructuring Task Force. There was a lot of unhappiness with lack of response from the Conference office. There was a feeling that the Conference office was distanced from the rest of the churches, and dissatisfaction with apportionments and appointments. In essence, the Annual Conference needed to change.