The Global Methodist Church (GMC), a denomination established as a theologically conservative alternative to the United Methodist Church (UMC), has now grown to encompass 6,000 member congregations around the world.
Launched on May 1, 2022, the GMC announced last Friday on its official Facebook page that it had achieved the 6,000-church milestone.
“That's 6,000 pulpits preaching the Gospel,” the post declared. “6,000 altars where hearts are renewed. … 6,000 congregations worshiping in a variety of nations and languages.”
The GMC also invited continued prayer for its mission, writing, “Join us in praying for the movement as we continue to welcome existing churches and plant new ones to spread the love of Christ to our communities and beyond.”
The creation of the Global Methodist Church was rooted in years of division within the UMC over the question of whether to change its Book of Discipline to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies and the ordination of clergy in same-sex relationships.
Although multiple efforts to amend the Book of Discipline were rejected at successive General Conferences, many progressive leaders within the UMC declined to adhere to or enforce the denomination’s traditional stance on sexuality.
In January 2020, 16 prominent UMC leaders representing a range of theological views proposed a separation protocol designed to give churches the option to leave the denomination peacefully over doctrinal disagreements.
The proposal also included a plan to allocate funds for the creation of a new, theologically conservative Methodist denomination for congregations choosing to disaffiliate.
The UMC General Conference was expected to review the separation protocol later that year, but the session was repeatedly postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global restrictions.
By March 2022, GMC organizers announced that they would proceed independently, launching their new denomination that May rather than waiting any longer for an official vote from the delayed General Conference.
Since then, thousands of churches have formally disaffiliated from the UMC amid the ongoing debate over LGBT inclusion, with the majority of them choosing to affiliate with the Global Methodist Church.
