More than 6,000 United Methodist congregations, one-fifth of the total in the US, have now been given permission to leave the denomination. in the middle of a schism on the theology and role of LGBTQ people in the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination.
Those numbers come after the close of regular June meetings for the denomination’s regional bodies, known as annual conferences. Departures began on a trickle in 2019, when the church created a four-year window of opportunity for American congregations to leave over LGBTQ-related issues, and cascaded to their highest level this year.
Church law prohibits marriage or ordination of “professed and professed homosexuals,” but many conservatives have chosen to leave amid growing defiance of those bans in many US churches and conferences.
Many of the departing congregations are joining the Global Methodist Church, a denomination created last year by conservatives who broke with the UMC, while others are becoming independent or joining different denominations.
Some 6,182 congregations have received approval to disaffiliate since 2019, according to an unofficial report. United Methodist News Service recount, which has been tracking the votes of the annual conferences. That number is 4,172 for this year alone, she reported.
Some annual conferences may approve more departures in special sessions later this year, according to the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative group that has advocated for churches leaving. While most UMC congregations remain, many of the congregations leaving are large, and denominational officials are bracing for major budget cuts in 2024.
The number of churches leaving is higher than conservatives originally estimated, Therrell said.
Legal disputes have largely been resolved over how much compensation should be paid to congregations leaving for their property and other financial obligations.
“For the most part, the bishops and other leaders of the annual conference have been very kind, and I deeply appreciate that,” Therrell said. “There have been some small exceptions to that, and they are unfortunate, but we are grateful that cooler, calmer heads have prevailed.”
Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the UMC Council of Bishops, said the departures were disappointing.
“I don’t think any of us want any of our churches to leave,” he said. “We are called to be the body of Christ, we are called to be united. There has never been a time when the church has not been free of conflict, but there has been a way that we have worked on it.”
But for those who want to “go and live your Christian faith in a new expression, we wish you God’s blessings,” he said.
The split has been long brewing, reflecting controversies that have led to splits in other mainline Protestant denominations. United Methodist legislative bodies, known as general conferences, have repeatedly tightened bans on LGBTQ marriage and ordination, thanks to coalitions of conservatives in churches across the US and abroad.
But amid increased defiance of those bans in many US churches, many conservatives decided to launch the Global Methodist Church separately, saying they believed sexuality issues reflected deeper theological differences.
The outflows have been particularly large in the South and Midwest, with states like Texas, Alabama, Kentucky and Ohio each losing hundreds of congregations.
In some areas, United Methodists have designated “lighthouse” or congregations with similar names, with a mission to receive members who wanted to remain United Methodists but whose churches were leaving. The GMC has begun planting new churches, including in areas where United Methodist congregations have remained in that denomination.
With these departures, progressives are expected to propose changing church law at the next General Conference in 2024 to allow same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBTQ people.
The United Methodist Church has about 6.5 million members in the United States and at least that many abroad, according to its website. US membership has been in steady decline, while overseas membership has grown, particularly in Africa.
Therrell said there will be efforts at General Conference 2024 to provide churches abroad a legal way to disaffiliate, similar to what US congregations have had.
The GMC says around 3,000 churches have so far joined the new denomination, with more expected.
Bickerton said it is time for United Methodists who remain in the denomination to refocus their work.
“Very often when you are under pressure, you start to exhibit creativity,” he said. “We are moving away from what we were towards what will be our next expression.” Budgets will be smaller, but “this is our opportunity to reshape the church for 21st century relevance and really focus on evangelism.”
