Over the last three years several United Methodist churches across the US, this state and this county have elected to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Conference. At this point, four churches in Simpson County have completed the process with one waiting for approval in December, 2023.
Each of the four has a new name and new signage and a new lease on life in their mission of the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These include Christ Fellowship Church (formerly Magee FUMC), The Church of Mendenhall, Harrisville Community Church, and Rials Creek Church.
D’Lo United Methodist Church has submitted the required paperwork for disaffiliation but has not yet chosen a new name for the congregation.
At the General Conference in 2019 a vote was taken on what was called the Traditional Plan, which plainly stated the desire of the delegates representing churches across the country to maintain the long standing adopted Book of Discipline as written. Several members of the General Conference wanted to change certain paragraphs within the document. A vote was taken with results of 438 yes votes (53%) and 384 no votes (47%) according to www.umc.org.
Two other actions took place at this conference. The first was the passage of a disaffiliation plan and the second was the postponement of implementation of the Traditional Plan, requesting a review from the Conference Judicial Council. The next conference scheduled in May 2020 was canceled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
After speaking with pastors and lay persons in the churches within each of the congregations, the general consensus for disaffiliation was the same across the board. The majority of church membership did not want any change to the Book of Discipline but rather wanted to keep it as is in the standing of the Wesleyan tradition and adhere to the teachings of the Bible.
Rials Creek Church voted on March 15, 2020, to disaffiliate with a vote of 53 to 1. An organizational board was created in April, paperwork and financial commitments were submitted, and disaffiliation was approved in June 2020.
The church did have to take out a loan. According to member Tenelia Frier they borrowed $80,000 in July 2020, but the church held a note burning in October 2021. “We paid that loan off in 15 months!” said member Freda Sherman.
Churches who disaffiliate from the United Methodist Conference pay a designated fee back into the conference. The amount is usually based on membership of an individual church.
Rials Creek held a celebration potluck in honor of the note burning and new church. Frier and Sherman said the church was full that Sunday and they are beginning to get new members. Services have resumed to pre-Covid status.
Harrisville Community Church began discussions to disaffiliate in 2021 and was approved for it at the Mississippi General Conference in 2022.
Pastor David Ware stated, “The main reason we did it was United Methodist was not following the Discipline, and by “discipline” I mean not following the Bible. I think if you ask any other Methodist church that’s disaffiliated, that’s the same answer they’re going to tell you.”
A celebration was held in July 2022 with a 5th Sunday dinner and dedication of the new church. All members of Harrisville Community voted to disaffiliate, and they too have seen an increase in attendance.
The Church of Mendenhall also completed the process in 2022; however, the congregation had actually made the decision in the spring of 2020. They returned to meeting in person after Covid and began the paperwork process in June 2021.
According to member Price Wallace, the congregation has not had any kind of celebration yet. “We’d been Methodists for so long; even though we hated what was going on it was still kind of like we were lost.” The church is coming up on its 100 year anniversary, having been built in 1929.
Christ Fellowship Church in Magee is the most recent former UMC church approved for disaffiliation on June 30, 2023. They began the process in 2022 but their situation was unique in that two congregations were meeting on ground, Magee and Mize United Methodist churches. They have been doing so for several years. While they met together to vote on the disaffiliation, each congregation had to vote separately on the issue. Mize voted unanimously for disaffiliation, and 97 percent of Magee’s congregation supported it as well.
After morning services on Sunday, July 16, CFC held a community wide celebration that offered games, water slides, face painting, hot dogs, watermelon and more.
Bro. Tony McDonald said, “I’m excited! Of course, it’s been a long time getting to this point. We’ve been doing a lot of prayerful searching about how we can reach out and connect with the community. It’s why we’re doing this today, inviting people to come by and let us meet them and invite them to come back.” The afternoon event was well attended by many visitors.
D’Lo United Methodist Church held their vote to disaffiliate on July 30 with 100 percent of the congregation voting yes. A special year end conference will be held December 9, 2023, for those remaining who to desire to disaffiliate. According to member James Davis, all the requisite paperwork was hand delivered to the UMC conference office. At this point the church is waiting for the final approval.
Davis said, “We like the Wesleyan tradition as set up by John Wesley and that has to do with the strict adherence to the Word of God and His commandments and the teachings and precepts of Jesus during His earthly ministry.”
Most of the members and pastors interviewed reported that their members felt a weight lifted and a new sense of excitement. Disaffiliation now allows for independence and autonomy about decisions made at these local churches, supporting ministries of their choosing and selecting their own pastors, rather than having a conference make those decisions for them.
