439 Texas congregations granted approval to leave the United Methodist Church

Two regional governing bodies of the United Methodist Church in Texas approved the departure of all 439 churches that had requested to disaffiliate from the denomination during separate special sessions Saturday. The Texas Annual Conference, based in Houston, granted approval to 294 churches out of its nearly 600. The Northwest Texas Conference, based in Lubbock, approved the departure of 145 churches from the roughly 200 it encompasses. After a controversial stance against same-sex marriages and LGBTQ clergy members was upheld by a slim majority in 2019, congregations across the country are seeking to disaffiliate from the denomination.

Many conservative congregations are leaving the UMC, believing the 2019 decision has not been enforced. However, some churches deny leaving over LGBTQ inclusion and point to a variety of differences, from finances to theology. The UMC is allowing churches to leave the denomination while retaining their properties and assets as long as certain steps are taken before the end of 2023, under a ruling also approved in 2019. Church congregations must first reach a two-thirds majority vote in favor before being approved by their annual conference or its regional governing body. Churches must also pay two years of apportionments to the UMC as well as any unfunded pension liability. Apportionments are annual funds paid to the UMC by individual congregations. The amount is decided by annual conferences. In Houston, 1,245 delegates from the 598 congregations voted on the mass departure, and 93% voted in favor. A spokesperson for the Texas Annual Conference, which covers much of East Texas, said 4% abstained and 3% voted against the departures. The Texas Annual Conference is the third-largest in the country.