<Tr> <Th> Members </Th> <Td> Worldwide: 12.1 million (7,067,162 in the United States; 4.4 million in Africa, Asia, and Europe). </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Official website </Th> <Td> umc.org </Td> </Tr> <P> The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a mainline Protestant denomination, and a major part of Methodism . In the 19th century, its main predecessor--the Methodist Church--was a leader in Evangelicalism . It was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, United States, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church . The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England as well as the Great Awakening in the United States . As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan . It embraces both liturgical and evangelical elements . It has a connectional polity, a typical feature of a number of Methodist denominations . </P> <P> The United Methodist Church, with at least 12 million members as of 2014, is the largest denomination within the wider Methodist movement of approximately 80 million people across the world . In the United States, the UMC ranks as the largest mainline Protestant denomination, the largest Protestant church after the Southern Baptist Convention, and the third largest Christian denomination . In 2014, its worldwide membership was distributed as follows: 7.2 million in the United States, and 4.4 million in Africa, Asia and Europe . It is a member of the World Council of Churches, the World Methodist Council, and other religious associations . In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 3.6% of the US population, or 9 million adult adherents, self - identify with the United Methodist Church revealing a much larger number of adherents than registered membership . </P>

When did the methodist church became the united methodist church