Texas Church Votes to Leave United Methodist Denomination
Highland Park Methodist Church, the largest in the U.S., plans to split from the denomination amid governance disputes.
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A major United Methodist church in Texas is set to vote on leaving the denomination after leaders of Highland Park Methodist Church declared the time for a split has come. The Church Council stated that a lawsuit from the Horizon Texas Conference is nothing more than interference in church governance, according to WFAA-TV.
Church Council Letter on Governance Dispute
“The Conference has consistently made it clear that it will no longer honor the governance structure that has been integral to our success as a Church,” a letter from the Church Council said. The letter also noted that the Church Council believes the Conference and its bishop have irrevocably broken the bond of trust that once existed between the Church and The United Methodist Church.
The letter emphasized that the church’s principles and mission will remain the same. “Regardless of the vote’s outcome, none of this will change. Our theology, our commitment to following Jesus Christ, and our mission to help people become deeply devoted followers of Jesus Christ will continue,” the letter said.
The church council says leaving the domination is “the only way” to preserve self-governance— something it claims it has been able to do for decades. Now the regional church conference (who is suing HPUMC) won’t let them do.
The church, which has been listed as the largest United Methodist Church congregation in the country, has about 15,000 members and in 2024 reported it had an annual income of more than $22 million, according to the Dallas Morning News. The congregation-wide vote on leaving the United Methodist Church will take place on October 25 and 26.
The letter from the council to church members said that its “recommendation on a ‘Yes’ vote reflects the Council’s determination and conviction that a ‘Yes’ vote is the only way to preserve our longstanding right to self-governance while protecting our Church’s historic ministry and mission.”
Legal and Property Concerns
If the church votes to leave, lawsuits are likely because the conference said the church’s property is held in trust with the denomination. “That isn’t a claim of ownership by any bishop or conference,” conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said. “It’s a promise that what one generation builds remains for mission in the next. None of us owns Highland Park United Methodist Church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church.”
Highland Park UMC leadership has asked its congregation to consider the possibility of leaving the United Methodist Church, a decision that could have broad implications in North Texas and beyond. https://t.co/GtgtQ1GfuD
The church made changes to its structure in 2022 that are now being contested. In one shift, the church changed its corporate name to “Highland Park Methodist Church.” Changes to church bylaws increased the role of the church council while diminishing that of the conference.
“It’s just a reality that stares us in the face,” senior minister Matt Tuggle said in a recent town hall on the issue. “It now becomes easier to continue to be the church that we are outside of the denomination than inside of it.”
Source: The Gateway Pundit
