Over 500 Texas churches voted to leave the United Methodist Church because of the denomination’s support for abortion and departure from other core biblical truths.
The United Methodist Church has drawn widespread criticism from its members for promoting far-left social causes since the 1970s. The UMC’s four regional bodies in Texas met in early December and approved requests from hundreds of congregations to disaffiliate from the second largest U.S. Protestant denomination.
- 145 churches in the Panhandle and far West Texas voted to exit, which equates to nearly 75% of the UMC Northwest Texas Conference’s congregations;
- 294 of the 598 churches in the Houston-based Central Texas Conference voted to leave the UMC;
- 29 Southeast Texas churches followed suit, with only 5 choosing to stay in the UMC; and
- 44 of the Dallas-based North Texas Conference voted to disaffiliate according to The Week.
The UMC’s position on abortion continues to alarm Pro-Life pastors and members. Until 2016, the UMC was even involved with the pro-abortion group Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, according to LifeNews. Some of its pastors continue to support pro-abortion causes.
An organization within the denomination, United Methodist Women, vowed to pray for abortions to become legal again in Texas last year after the groundbreaking Texas Heartbeat Act saved tens of thousands of babies.
Many speculate that the churches leaving the UMC will likely join the Global Methodist Church, which holds biblical views on protecting Life.
Christianity rejects the culture of death and lifts up God’s most vulnerable children. It defends those who can’t speak for themselves and offers mercy to the suffering. Pro-Life advocates bring hope and compassion every day to mothers and babies because every person is made in the image and likeness of God. Christians everywhere must stand up in defense of Life.