06/09/2023
"I have never felt more hope for the future of the United Methodist Church." This was the sentiment expressed last night as I met with Resurrection's laity and clergy attending the Great Plains Annual Conference.
Despite the Annual Conference approving 155 disaffiliations, most of the delegates from the remaining 750 churches were energized. They are proud of being a church where all are welcome. They are clear that our work is to be used by God to draw people to Christ, to help people grow in their faith, to care for the people in the congregation, and to inspire and equip their congregations to serve as Christ's hands and feet in their communities and throughout the world.
They also know that, despite claims from some in the GMC, United Methodists continue to hold to the historic essentials of the Christian faith as captured in the creeds.
There was excitement, too, as our approach to the faith seems to be drawing young adults to want to be a part of this new beginning for United Methodism. We have the largest class of newly ordained or commissioned people I can remember (nearly 50). Most are young adults who are committed to Christ and the future of the UMC.
It was fun to hear from pastors and churches that are growing and reaching new people. An African pastor serving a predominantly Anglo church in Kansas told me how they had tripled in size in the last couple of years, from 100 to 300 in worship. One female pastor working 1/4 time came to tell me that her church had grown from 13 people to 21 - her church had grown by 62%!!! Another pastor told me the church she serves has grown from 20 to 55 over the last couple of years! A lay woman with small kids shared her story during Conference reporting that, after her church voted to disaffiliate, she and 30 others from her congregation that wished to remain United Methodist started a new congregation in a borrowed space. Her enthusiasm was contagious!
There were, of course, pastors and laity that reported that their churches had gone through the discernment process regarding disaffiliation and had lost people, but most of these pastors and laity seemed hopeful too. One woman noted that the people who remained in the congregation were more passionate about their faith and that the conflict had actually led them to a deeper commitment to Christ and to the church's mission and its welcome of everyone in their community.
I wish God's blessings on each of the church's that disaffiliated. These are our brothers and sisters and they will reach people our UM congregations may not reach. But I'm proud to be a United Methodist and excited about what God is doing, and will do, through United Methodist Churches in the years ahead!
The chart shows the latest data we have on disaffiliations in the US. Of those churches disaffiliating, it appears 2,000 to 3,000 have or will join the GMC and the GMC will have about 450,000 members. Another 2,000 will be non-denominational or join another Methodist denomination. The UMC will have 24,000 to 26,000 churches with about 4.5 million members.
