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The districts of the Church of the Brethren are 23 regional divisions that serve to administer the 1,035 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 34 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D. C. in addition to their overseas missions.
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History and purpose
The district system has existed amongst 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 back to them the proceedings. The Church of the Brethren is governed by a Congregationalist model of church polity, so most decisions are made locally by individual congregations without interference from any hierarchical structure. Delegates from districts serve the purpose of raising issues at Annual Conferences (called "queries") which affect 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.
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 Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN) (Hausa for "Church of the Children of the Same Mother"), the Nigerian church which was granted autonomy in 1975.