Districts of the Church of the Brethren

The districts of the Church of the Brethren are twenty-four regional divisions that serve to administer approximately one thousand congregations[1] of the Church of the Brethren in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Districts are divided along state and county lines with membership and geographic scope varying widely.

The Church of the Brethren is present in thirty-four U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. in addition to its overseas missions.

The district system has existed among Schwarzenau Brethren since 1856—prior to the 1881–1883 split—and served the administrative purpose of determining delegates to the Annual Conference who could represent the interests of various communities and report the proceedings back to church leaders.

[2] Delegates from districts serve the purpose of raising issues at annual conferences (called "queries"), which affect members of the Church of the Brethren at large or which have a scope greater than that of a single congregation or locality, e.g. the ordination of women or how to regulate funds for missions activities.