CV NEWS FEED // More than 7,650 United Methodist congregations have disaffiliated from the mainline church, following concerns that the second-largest mainline protestant group had fallen away from traditional Biblical teachings.
Conservative Methodist leader Mark Tooley said that he was “thrilled” at the high number of churches disaffiliating.
“Liberal pastor Adam Hamilton predicted there would only be 3000-4500 church exits. We had expected maybe 5000-6000. But 25% of all United Methodist churches have now left the denomination despite all the high hurdles!” Tooley, President of the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD), wrote in a letter. “Praise the Lord for performing this great work!”
“But now we must REBUILD Methodism!” he continued.
As previously reported by CatholicVote, the United Methodist Church (UMC) voted to uphold traditional marriage and limit clergy to non-LGBT people in 2019. But as many liberal Methodists ignore the ruling by officiating same-sex marriages and electing LGBT clergy, conservative Methodists are leaving, usually to join the Global Methodist Church or become non-denominational.
The IRD developed an institute to help train theological leaders for the new wave of Methodism. The program is called the John Wesley Institute.
“If we church members often don’t know what it is to be Methodist, how can there be hope for the Methodist movement?” Tooley stated.
Tooley also highlighted the start of a new Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.
“It’s so much needed here, where all Methodist churches are liberal and/or dying,” he explained. “We need a vibrant Methodism in the nation’s capital!”