History

The group that has come to be know as UMITA, was originally begun by some of the more technology minded folks from the National Association of Annual Conference Treasurers(NAACT). In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two informal user groups formed and began meeting prior to the Treasurers meeting. These two groups were separated by their computer hardware: One group consisted of users who used Texas Instruments Microcomputers and the other group used Basic four minicomputers. GCFA provided some staff to support these meetings. As the role of technology grew in the annual conferences and in the general agencies, there developed a need for more time to focus on technology during these meetings.

Around 1990, these two groups intentionally began including other conferences and the groups began meeting separately, but concurrently with the NAACT. At this point, they called themselves the United Methodist Association of Computer Administrators (UMACCA). Many treasurers were still involved in this group, but gradually, as the role of technology grew, separate staff were hired to handle the role of technology in the Annual Conferences. As more dedicated IT folks joined they began to spend more time and focus directly on IT trends and issues.

In 2003 a vote was held to change the name of the group to UMITA. In 2008, UMITA began meeting on its own for the first time. Today UMITA has worked to develop partnerships with the General Agencies and Annual Conferences to provide a central point for the sharing of information, discussion of IT issues, and the development of IT systems that benefit the United Methodist Church. UMITA was active in working with 6 General Agencies to write the UMC Data Definitions, and develop the Data Sync that conferences are now implementing