The districts of the Church of the Brethren are twenty-four regional divisions that serve to administer approximately one thousand congregations 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.

History and purpose 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.

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. Due to the increase in queries presented to the Annual Conference, in 1856, the Brethren approved the establishment of districts of no less than five churches that would answer queries that had a local scope.

List of districts NameTerritory(ies)CongregationsAtlantic NortheastDelaware (1), Maine (3), New Jersey (1), New York (3), Pennsylvania (71)79Atlantic SoutheastFlorida (19), Puerto Rico (9)Note that one Puerto Rican church—located at Cipres Street 738 Highland Park in Rio Piedras, 00924-5139—is not listed in this database, but can be found searching for Puerto Rican churches.28IdahoIdaho6Illinois and WisconsinIllinois (38), Wisconsin (1)39MichiganMichigan20Mid-AtlanticDelaware (1), Maryland (46), Pennsylvania (2), Virginia (8), Washington, D. C. (1), West Virginia (4)62Middle PennsylvaniaMaryland (1), Pennsylvania (54)55Missouri and ArkansasArkansas (2), Missouri (13)15Northern IndianaIndiana (39), Michigan (1)40Northern OhioMichigan (1), Ohio (50)51Northern PlainsIowa (26), Minnesota (6), Montana (1)33Oregon and WashingtonOregon (4), Washington (12)16Pacific SouthwestArizona (3), California (25)28ShenandoahVirginia (87), West Virginia (10)97South/Central IndianaIndiana48SoutheasternAlabama (3), North Carolina (13), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (17), Virginia (8)42Southern OhioIndiana (1), Kentucky (4), Ohio (49)54Southern PennsylvaniaPennsylvania44Southern PlainsNew Mexico (1), Oklahoma (4), Texas (3)8VirlinaNorth Carolina (6), Virginia (79), West Virginia (5)90Western PlainsColorado (9), Kansas (27), Nebraska (4), New Mexico (1)41West MarvaMaryland (15), Pennsylvania (1), West Virginia (47)64Western PennsylvaniaPennsylvania70

Churches by territory TerritoryDistrict(s)NumberAlabamaSoutheastern3ArizonaPacific Southwest3ArkansasMissouri and Arkansas2CaliforniaPacific Southwest25ColoradoWestern Plains9DelawareAtlantic Northeast (1), Mid-Atlantic (1)2FloridaAtlantic Southeast19IdahoIdaho6IllinoisIllinois and Wisconsin38IndianaNorthern Indiana (45), South/Central Indiana (48), Southern Ohio (2)95IowaNorthern Plains26KansasWestern Plains27KentuckySouthern Ohio4MaineAtlantic Northeast3MarylandMid-Atlantic (43), Middle Pennsylvania (1), West Marva (19)63MichiganMichigan (19), Northern Indiana (1), Northern Ohio (1)21MinnesotaNorthern Plains6MissouriMissouri and Arkansas13MontanaNorthern Plains1NebraskaWestern Plains4New JerseyAtlantic Northeast1New MexicoWestern Plains (1), Southern Plains (1)2New YorkAtlantic Northeast3North CarolinaSoutheastern (14), Virlina (6)20OhioNorthern Ohio (51), Southern Ohio (47)98OklahomaSouthern Plains4OregonOregon and Washington4PennsylvaniaAtlantic Northeast (71), Mid-Atlantic (2), Middle Pennsylvania (54), Southern Pennsylvania (44), West Marva (1), Western Pennsylvania (70)242Puerto RicoAtlantic Southeast9South CarolinaSoutheastern1TennesseeSoutheastern17TexasSouthern Plains3VirginiaMid-Atlantic (8), Shenandoah (87), Southeastern (7), Virlina (79)181WashingtonOregon and Washington12Washington, D. C.Mid-Atlantic1West VirginiaMid-Atlantic (4), Shenandoah (10), Virlina (5), West Marva (47)66WisconsinIllinois and Wisconsin1

Churches outside the United States

The Church of the Brethren began missionary activities in the late 19th century, which included the establishment of churches in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Although most foreign missions closed by the middle of the 20th century, several remain worldwide.

The most successful such mission has been (EYN) (Hausa for "Church of the Children of the Same Mother"), the Nigerian church which was granted autonomy in 1975.

Current foreign missions

Former foreign missions Canada Alberta Arrowwood, Bow Valley (1917–68) Irricana (1910–68) Mountain View (1907–22) Pleasant Ridge (1908–17) Pleasant Valley (1909–20) Redcliffe Mission (1917–?) Second Irricana (1924–64) Sharon (1906–17)

Saskatchewan Fairview (1903–33) Merrington (1920–49) Vidora: Battle Creek (1910–56)

Mainland China Guangdong On Fun, San Tai (1918–48) Shanxi Tsin (Chin) Chou Liao Chou (1912–50) Ping Ting Choll (1912–50) Shou Yang Hsien (Show Yang) (1919–50) T'ai Yuan Fu (1923–50)

Cuba Omaja (1908?–19)

References

Further reading

External links Church directory from the Church of the Brethren