90 Percent of Largest United Methodist Church Congregation Votes to Leave Denomination - But It Won't Be Easy
America’s largest Methodist congregation has voted to leave the United Methodist Church denomination.
After two days of voting, 90.35 percent of the 4,775 votes cast at Highland Park United Methodist Church were in favor of a motion to “sever all of its ties, affiliations, and connections to The United Methodist Church,” according to UM News.
“Based on these results, the congregation has voted to follow the recommendation of the Church Council and separate from the United Methodist Church,” the council said, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“Beginning this Sunday, we will worship as Highland Park Methodist Church,” the council continued.
The council added that it will “operationalize the changes required by this separation, with a goal to have that work completed by December 1, 2026.”
“We thank you for all the time, thought, and prayer you have put into this voting process,” the council said.
“We recognize that faithful people have approached this decision with different perspectives, and we honor the point of view and vote of every member.”
The church has about 15,000 members, and in 2024 reported it had an annual income of more than $22 million, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“This was not an easy decision, and we know it has not been made lightly. For many of us, it is a painful, difficult, and emotional decision. For others, the decision was straightforward,” the church council said, UM News reported.
“Regardless of your perspective, we want to assure you that our Church will continue to operate as it has, and we will continue to be who we are. We will remain united by our identity and mission in Christ, rather than divided by our differences,” the letter said.
But the debate over property and authority is far from over.
Two months ago, the Horizon Texas Conference filed a lawsuit saying changes to church bylaws approved in 2022 wrongly took oversight away from the denomination.
There is also the question over Highland Park’s property.
Under the denomination’s trust clause, each local church holds its property in trust for the United Methodist Church, which would mean the church could not take its property with it.
In a statement after the vote, the Horizon Texas Conference said it “remains committed to the congregation and ministry of Highland Park United Methodist Church and to the shared covenant that connects us as United Methodists.”
“We understand that this is a deeply personal and emotional time for many members of the congregation, and we continue to hold all who call Highland Park their church home in our prayers.”
This vote will encourage others to follow. But United Methodist congregations don’t own their property. So exit from denomination means litigation, purchase or negotiation. Easier for big wealthy churches, less so for others.
— @markdtooley (@markdtooley) October 27, 2026
“While individuals are free to make their own decisions about their religious affiliation, a congregational vote does not, by itself, sever a local church’s relationship with The United Methodist Church. The conference has a responsibility to uphold the covenant we share and continues to ask that Highland Park’s governing documents be restored in accordance with United Methodist governance. That has been our request from the beginning.”
A nonjury trial on the lawsuit against Highland Park has been scheduled for Oct. 12, 2027.
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A report from the denomination’s General Council on Finance and Administration said membership in the United Methodist Church fell by more than 170,000 in 2025, according to The Christian Post.
The United Methodist Church’s embrace of the LGBT movement has been part of the denomination’s story.
From 2019 to 2023, more than 7,600 churches left the denomination.
Many of those churches were theologically conservative.
About 70 South Carolina congregations are currently seeking to leave the denomination and take their property with them, according to The Christian Post.
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