Philippine Central Conference

Here is a nice overview of the United Methodist Church Central Conference areas. Our mission trip to Biao will be taking us to the Davao Episcopal Area.

The Philippines Central Conference today consist of 3 Episcopal Areas, 21 Annual Conferences, 200,540 Professing Members with an area of 477,181 square Km. More figures are as follows:

In 1908, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
authorized the organization of the Philippine Islands Mission into
the Philippine Islands Annual Conference, under the jurisdiction of
the Southern Asia Central Conference. The work in the Philippines
grew quickly and in 1936, the General Conference enabled the
organization of the Philippines Central Conference during the
following quadrennium. This act was ratified at the 1939 Uniting
Conference which created The Methodist Church. The first session
of the Philippines Central Conference was held at the Central
Methodist Church in Manila, beginning February 29, 1940.
Following years of growth, the 1960 General Conference
approved a second episcopal area in the Philippines Central
Conference: the Baguio Area (composed of the Northwest
Philippines Annual Conference, the Northern Philippines Annual
Conference, and the Mindanao Provisional Annual Conference)
which joined the Manila Area (composed of the Philippines Annual
Conference, Southwest Philippines Provisional Annual Conference,
and the Middle Philippines Annual Conference). The 1984 General
Conference mandated the addition of a third episcopal area, the
Davao Area.

The Davao Episcopal Area: Resident Bishop: Bishop Leo A. Soriano

Consist of the following: 5 Annual Conferences: Bicol Provisional Conference, East Mindanao Phil. Annual Conference, Mindanao Phil. Annual Conference, Visayas Annual Conference, and Northwest Phil. Annual Conference , 25,396 Professing and Baptized Members, 127 Ordained Clergy, 143 local Pastors, 201 Organized Churches, and 40 Preaching places. This Episcopal area covers an area of 3000,000 square Kilometers.