WASHINGTON—The idea of doing ministry in a "world parish" is changing and creating possibilities for church growth, the United Methodist Church's top cleric told bishops.

According to the United Methodist News Service, Bishop Reudiger Minor, president of the UMC Council of Bishops, said 18th century Methodist founder John Wesley was on target when he defined the church's "parish" as an open world.

‘"The whole world—our parish.' Yes, Mr. Wesley, you have been right, (for) four continents at least: Africa, America, Asia and Europe," Minor said during his Nov. 5 president's address.

"A new dimension of United Methodist presence in the world has opened a wide range of possibilities," he said. "The world has become our parish (on) a scale that Wesley could never dream of."

Minor delivered his address at a banquet following an afternoon of visits with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the news service reported. Nearly 330 people, including diplomats and ecumenical leaders as well as homeless and needy people attended the dinner.

Awareness of the worldwide nature of the church has grown in the United States in the last 25 years, he told nearly 112 bishops from around the world at the semiannual meeting.

"Has United Methodism become another big American corporation, trying to take over the world in the general rush of globalization?" he asked. The answer, he said, is quite the opposite. The influence of the denomination's central conferences—regional units outside the United States—is growing, benefiting the entire church.

"The world is our common parish, indeed," he said. "It is time for a new relationship between the church in the USA and in the central conferences. We are leaving behind a model of large-scale dependence in leadership, policy and finances."