The North Georgia Annual Conference of Methodist churches has approved a proposal to merge with their south Georgia counterparts by a vote of 96%-4% at its annual meeting this week in Athens. The South Georgia Annual Conference voted on the same Unification Plan on June 1 with 96.6% in favor.
NORTH GA. CONFERENCE NEWS RELEASE:
“This marks a historic day, as both Georgia conferences see the value and importance of working together to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in this chapter of The United Methodist Church in the state of Georgia.
The actions of both Annual Conferences represent an important step in the proposed unification process, but additional approvals are still required before unification becomes official.
Now that both conferences have voted, the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference will determine whether or not to convene a special virtual session in August 2026 to consider the unification of the two conferences to form the Georgia Annual Conference. Only after approval by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference would unification be authorized to move forward.
Should those approvals occur, Bishop Dease will call a joint special session of both annual conferences in September 2026 to celebrate and prepare for the formation of a unified Georgia Conference. Under the proposal, the Georgia Annual Conference would officially be established on January 1, 2027, with a Service of Worship and Celebration planned for January 2027. The first session of the Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church would then be held in Athens in June 2027.”