Global Methodist Church announces May launch, split from United Methodist Church over LGBTQ rights

The Global Methodist Church, a new, more conservative Methodist denomination, announced Thursday it will officially launch in May, the biggest step so far in the highly anticipated split of the United Methodist Church over LGBTQ rights.

The new denomination announced its plans on the same day the UMC postponed its General Conference for the third time, this time until 2024. Delegates were expected to vote on proposals regarding the creation of a new denomination at the General Conference on Aug. 29-Sept. 6 in Minneapolis.

"Theologically conservative local churches and annual conferences want to be free of divisive and destructive debates, and to have the freedom to move forward together," the Rev. Keith Boyette, chairman of the Global Methodist Church's transitional leadership council, said in a statement. "We are confident many existing congregations will join the new Global Methodist Church in waves over the next few years."

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The Global Methodist Church's official launch was part of a widely agreed upon plan –called the "Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation," or the Protocol.

UMC delegates have not voted on the Protocol, meaning conditions of the plan have not received approval. A key stipulation in the Protocol is for the UMC to pay the new denomination $25 million to get started.

Another provision outlines how individual churches that disaffiliate from the UMC and decide to join the Global Methodist Church can do so "with clear title to all of their property and assets in perpetuity," according to the Global Methodist Church news release. 

"The Protocol is a piece of proposed legislation that will be considered when the General Conference is able to meet," UMC spokesperson Diane Degnan said in a statement. 

A commission for the UMC General Conference decided to postpone again due to travel constraints for delegates in other countries, according to a news release Thursday. 

"The visa issue is a reality that is simply outside our control as we seek to achieve a reasonable threshold of delegate presence and participation," Kim Simpson, chairperson of the commission for the General Conference, said in the release. "Ultimately our decision reflects the hope that 2024 will afford greater opportunity for global travel and a higher degree of protection for the health and safety of delegates and attendees."

The UMC, with more than 6.2 million members in the U.S., according to 2020 data, is the largest mainline Protestant denomination in the nation. As of 2018, the denomination had more than 12 million members worldwide.

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.