More than 1,100 people attended the Global Methodist Church General Conference in Africa, with the theologically conservative denomination reporting considerable growth of congregations and regional conferences. Founded in 2022 in response to the fierce debate over LGBT issues within the United Methodist Church (UMC) that led to a major schism in the mainline denomination, the Global Methodist Church (GMC) held its General Conference Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Dianne Burnett, GMC’s executive director of communications, told The Christian Post that 1,168 attendees were registered for the conference, including bishops, delegates, staffers and volunteers. “Attendees left feeling connected to a global body of believers and confident in the work accomplished to secure the future of the Global Methodist Church,” Burnett said.
“Throughout the week, the Church experienced facets of every nation’s culture, needs, language and heart, intermingled with the thick presence of the Holy Spirit, making it an unforgettable experience,” Burnett continued. “The 2026 General Conference will be remembered for its decisions: a first full-time Assembly of Bishops, consequential legislation, foundational doctrinal work, new connectional leadership and a significant ecumenical covenant with the Korean Methodist Church.” The GMC held its inaugural General Conference in 2024 in San Jose, Costa Rica, which focused on forming the basics of the nascent denomination. Over the past two years, the denomination has reported considerable growth. In 2024, the GMC had around 4,700 member churches; as of last week, that number stands at 7,250. Also, the denomination has gone from 36 annual conferences in 2024 to 50 regional bodies this year.
“Johannesburg beautifully represented the global nature and full community of the Global Methodist Church,” said Burnett. “With the Church now here, the denomination was able to vote on more than 451 petitions and key items such as the Articles of Faith and appointment of full-time bishops.” GMC Connectional Operations Officer the Rev. Mike Schafer, who contrasted the two general conferences, said in a statement: “We left Costa Rica 707 days ago a bunch of former United Methodists. Today, we are the Global Methodist Church.” For decades, the UMC, once the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., experienced division over whether to change its Book of Discipline to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals. Although efforts to change the Book of Discipline at the UMC General Conference failed, many theological liberals in the UMC refused to follow or enforce the rules, drawing consternation from theological conservatives in the denomination.
In January 2020, 16 UMC leaders from diverse theological views announced their support for a proposed separation protocol that would create a way for churches that wanted to leave the denomination. The proposed protocol, which would also set aside funds to create a theologically conservative denomination, was scheduled to be considered at the 2020 UMC General Conference, but the gathering was postponed multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2022, GMC organizers announced that they were launching the new denomination that May, without waiting for the postponed General Conference to finally approve the protocol. The General Conference was rescheduled for 2024 although the disaffiliation policy was set to expire at the end of 2023. Thousands of congregations disaffiliated from the UMC, with most of them voting to join the GMC while others became independent churches.
After the mass dissafiliation, the UMC voted in 2024 to change the Book of Discipline to allow churches to bless gay unions and ordain openly LGBT clergy. In February, the GMC announced that it “officially surpassed 7,000 churches worldwide.” “This moment reminds us that growth isn’t just measured in numbers — it’s found in repentance, renewal, and lives being transformed by Jesus Christ,” stated the GMC earlier this year. “As Wesleyans, we are called to holiness of heart and life, to return to the Lord, and to carry His love into every community.”
Source: Christian Post