The United Methodist Church (UMC) lost more than one million members in one fell swoop last week when a large West African conference voted to leave the church over its support for LGBT clergy and marriage.
The United Methodist Church of Côte d’Ivoire (Eglise Méthodiste Unie Côte d’Ivoire, or EMUCI for short) renounced its membership in the UMC on May 28 for “reasonable reasons towards God and His Word,” La Croix International reported. report.
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EMUCI has been a member of the UMC since 2008, but said the church has “strayed from Scripture” and would rather “sacrifice its honor and integrity in order to respect the LGBTQ community.”
The Ivory Coast Conference is one of the sect’s largest groups and last year report The number of members exceeds 1 million.
An LGBTQ+ flag is displayed at Union United Methodist Church in Boston’s South End on January 5, 2020. (Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The EMCUI decision comes after the US-based UMC voted in May to lift decades-old bans on LGBT clergy and marriage, a vote that sparked mass exodus from the church around the world.
The UMC decision was passed by a vote of 692 to 51 at the General Assembly in Charlotte, North Carolina, NPR reported. report.
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EMUCI president Bishop Benjamin Boni declared that the UMC “currently relies on socio-cultural values that have undermined the integrity of its doctrine and discipline.”
According to Breitbart News, in the first six months of 2023 alone, more than 4,000 churches have left the UMC over its LGBTQ+ ideology. report.
In this April 19, 2019 file photo, a gay pride rainbow flag is displayed alongside the American flag in front of Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
As the organization continues to lose members, Korean Methodist Church The church, which has about 1.5 million members, is also considering leaving, The Christian Post reported Monday.
“Homosexuality will not be accepted until the Lord returns. This is not an emotional issue, but an issue of immutable truth. Homosexuality is clearly a sin,” the Korean Methodist Church Union said in a statement. “This is an issue that concerns the sanctity of life, and the church must teach it correctly and without compromise.”
