The Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative denomination that was launched last year to replace the United Methodist Church, already has more than 4,200 members.
GMC ended 2023 with 4,281 member churches since its launch on May 1, 2022, according to GMC Interim Connectivity Director Keith Boyett.
“Current member congregations are primarily former UMC congregations, but there are also member congregations from other denominations, previously nondenominational or independent member congregations, or new church facilities that are already recognized as member congregations. ” he said. christian post.
Boyett also said there are still UMC churches “inside and outside the United States” that are attempting to affiliate with the GMC, and that there will be more after the UMC General Assembly (April 23-May 3) at the Charlotte Convention Center. He pointed out that churches are expected to join. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
For the past several decades, there has been a division in the UMC over whether to change the Book of Discipline to recognize same-sex marriages and the blessing of same-sex unions. However, past efforts to change the Book of Discipline have had little success due to the voting power of mostly theologically conservative African representatives.
Nevertheless, many theological liberals within the UMC believe that adhering to the Book of Discipline by officiating in gay unions and ordaining openly gay clergy Rejected. In November 2022, the UMC Western Jurisdiction voted to appoint the Rev. Cedric D. Bridgeforth of the California Pacific Conference as its bishop despite same-sex marriage.
During a special session of the 2019 UMC General Assembly, participants voted to add Section 2553 to the Book of Discipline, which would allow a temporary procedure for congregations to withdraw from the UMC in light of the controversy surrounding homosexuality. However, the provisions of Section 2553 expired at the end of 2023.
According to numbers compiled by , 7,660 congregations left UMC between 2019 and 2023. UM News. Additionally, more than 5,600 people voted to leave the mainstream.
In addition to GMC, another congregation that has recently launched as an alternative to UMC is the Methodist Collegiate Church, founded by White's Chapel. This Texas megachurch will break away from UMC in 2022 and identify itself as a theological centrist.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributor to Christian Headlines and host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast dedicated to sound doctrine and Biblical truth. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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