35 churches in Arkansas decide to leave the United Methodist Church

Arkansas – Today, the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church convened a special meeting to discuss the possibility of allowing some of its churches to secede from the church.

Participation is open to all active clergy members of the Arkansas Annual Conference, including assigned local pastors.

To be eligible, lay members must have sat down for the June 2022 Annual Conference Session.

From 10:00 am until 6:00 pm, Bishop Mueller will be the session’s host in Horner Hall at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

The disaffiliation of 27 member churches from the United Methodist Church was approved by an overwhelming majority of the Arkansas Annual Conference of the Methodist Church.

The churches around the state choosing to break away cited “reasons of conscience” relating to “the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals.”

The following congregations on the special session’s agenda voted unanimously on disaffiliation: Amity, Asbury (Magnolia), Bellefonte, Bethesda Campground, Bland Chapel, Bruce Memorial, Dalark, Delight, Hebron (Carlisle), Hinton, Holly Springs (Sparkman), Holly Springs (Texarkana), Kibler, Mount Zion (Lonoke), Parker’s Chapel, Saint John (Hope), Saint Mark (El Dorado), Saint Paul (El Dorado), Sparkman, theJourney (Cabot), Washington and Westside.
The remaining congregations that voted for disaffiliation included: Heritage (Van Buren) (98%), Mountainside (94%), Alma (91%), Grace (Conway) (87%), Smyrna (87%), Mount Tabor (Cabot) (86%), Saint Paul (Searcy) (86%), Heber Springs First (85%), Stuttgart First (82%), Piney Grove (81%), Cabot (79%), Siloam Springs (78%), Christ (Texarkana) (72%), Fordyce First (715), Searcy First (71%) and Jonesboro First (69%).