The United Methodist Church (UMC), the second-largest Protestant organization in the U.S., is experiencing divisions over issues of sexuality, church governance, and the power of the Bible. The previous week, a megachurch in Texas successfully decided to leave the UMC.
In a public vote on Feb. 21, St. Andrew Methodist Church in Plano, a megachurch with one of the biggest communities in the Plano-based UMC North Texas Annual Conference, received 859 votes in favor and 12 votes against, based on a statement.
To finish the terms of our disassociation, church leadership “engaged in serious and successful dialogues” with the regional UMC officials, according to a statement provided to The Christian Post.
The statement stated, “St. Andrew’s aim was always to disassociate but still keep partnerships with the UMC and benefit each other in ministry for the future.
As per UM News, the church officially declared in October that it would be quitting the UMC without a public vote, arguing that such a move was inappropriate at the time.
“Everyone engaged has a strong love for the church that created us, yet the faults and weaknesses of the institution are also too genuine to ignore,” Rev. Arthur Jones, senior pastor, and Kathy King, the church’s executive committee chair, declared in a statement last autumn.
