The New International Encyclopædia/Congregational Methodist Church, The

CONGREGATIONAL METHODIST CHURCH, The. A body formed in May, 1852, in Monroe County, Ga., by ministers and laymen who had withdrawn from the Methodist Episcopal Church and wished to establish a church with Methodistic doctrines, but giving the people a voice in their own government. In 1852 the first district conference was held and a Book of Discipline adopted; in 1855 the first general convention was held. Since 1881 many churches have joined the Congregational body, but in 1901 the Congregational Methodists reported 350 churches and 21,000 members. In government it is not strictly Congregational, since it has semi-annual district conferences, annual State conferences, and quadrennial general conferences, and it is admissible to carry an appeal from one to another. It admits both white and colored persons, the latter being separately organized.