Annual Conferences are collections of several hundred United Methodist churches in an area. The Louisiana Annual Conference is comprised of nearly 500 United Methodist churches within the state. Some annual conferences comprise more than one state. Some states, like Texas, have multiple conferences within its borders. The Louisiana Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church meets annually in early June at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The United States is divided into five Jurisdictional Conferences. Louisana is in the South Central Jurisdiction. The Jurisdictions meet quadrennially (once every four years) in July after the General Conference. One of the major jobs of a Jurisdictional Conference is to elect and appoint bishops. The next Jurisdictional Conference will be in 2016 in Wichita, Kansas.

The General Conference is the quadrennial gathering of delegates representing the entire United Methodist Church. Decisions on the Discipline changes are made at General Conference. The next General Conference will be held in Portland, Oregon in 2016.