Parky60 Loc: People's Republic of Illinois

“I did not want to split the church. I wanted to reform the church.”

Such were Mark Tooley’s sentiments concerning the theological rift that threatened to split the United Methodist Church (UMC), the denomination in which he had served his entire Christian life.

The efforts of Tooley and others who shared the same desire to steer the UMC back to its biblical moorings were unsuccessful; thus, a formal split ensued, and on May 1, 2022, the Global Methodist Church (GMC) was launched.

Tooley, president of The Institute on Religion and Democracy, an organization that seeks to assist Christians in promoting biblical, historic Christianity in society, spoke about the GMC as it approaches its two-year anniversary.

Current growth
The process of disaffiliating with the UMC proved to be quite difficult for some congregations, and even impossible for many.

Despite the challenges, however, by the December 2023 deadline to exit, some 7,600 U.S. churches had made the decision to separate.

“A little over 4,000, or 55%, of those who chose to exit have joined the GMC, and that number is climbing,” Tooley said. “It will probably rise to at least 70%, maybe 80%.”

It might seem natural for those leaving a liberalized Methodist denomination to gravitate naturally and quickly to a conservative Methodist denomination, but that is not necessarily the case, according to Tooley. However, he believes those congregations now in an independent status can be appealed to and won over.

“There are still hundreds of churches that have been burned by their denominational experience and think they don’t need a wider structure in which to belong,” Tooley explained. “So, the GMC needs … to demonstrate that, unlike the old UMC, it is not a coercive bureaucratic structure, but it is more of a network of collaboration.”

Potential prospects
Should the UMC officially liberalize at the 2024 General Conference as expected, Tooley anticipates many more congregations will desire to exit, though admittedly, it will be very difficult.

“Some will find a way to fight their way out,” Tooley said. “So maybe a few hundred more will exit, and some of those will want to join the GMC.”

But Tooley sees great potential for growth as he looks beyond the U.S. and surveys the global landscape.

“There are 7 million United Methodists in Africa, most of whom will want to exit after the UMC fully liberalizes,” he said. “Hopefully … nearly all will want to join the GMC, but we don’t know how that’s going to break out yet.”

Additionally, Tooley has been encouraged by the international interest in the GMC by Filipino, European, Latin American, and Asian congregations.

Bright future
Though initially opposed to it, Tooley now sees the GMC as a necessary and worthwhile endeavor.

“I’ve heard many stories of local churches that have exited and feel very liberated and relieved that conflict is behind [them]. … Some churches are growing and have a vision for a better future. So, I think overall, it’s been very positive,” Tooley said.

“The 7,600 churches that exited is a significant new body of Christian believers. It’s, for example, bigger than the whole Episcopal church denomination,” Tooley explained. “So, it could have a significant impact on American Christianity – if it works well and is faithful.”