Texas Church Leaves United Methodist Church Over Concerns It’s Not Anti-Gay Enough

Grace Fellowship in Katy, Texas, has announced its departure from the United Methodist Church (UMC), citing the denomination’s insufficient stance on LGBTQ+ issues. The church’s decision comes amid ongoing debates within the UMC over its approach to same-sex marriage and the ordination of queer clergy.

The UMC’s Book of Discipline defines “self-avowed practicing homosexual” as a person who openly acknowledges to church leadership that they are a practicing homosexual. At the UMC’s general conference in February, approximately 53 percent of delegates supported the “Traditional Plan,” which reinforces the denomination’s prohibition on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy. The plan also strengthens penalties for clergy who perform same-sex weddings.

Despite the vote for the Traditional Plan, founding pastor Jim Leggett of Grace Fellowship stated that UMC leadership was still not adhering to “biblical standards of morality.” He noted that the church’s congregation felt compelled to leave the denomination to focus on its mission and vision without being distracted by internal conflicts.

Leggett explained that the church had been spending a significant portion of its leadership meetings discussing UMC-related issues, which he described as a misallocation of time and resources. He emphasized that while the UMC’s Book of Discipline contains biblical standards, the denomination’s leadership was failing to uphold them in practice.

As a result, Grace Fellowship has decided to affiliate with the Free Methodist Church, a smaller and more conservative denomination. This move reflects a broader trend within some Wesleyan-Holiness churches to seek alignment with more traditional theological positions on sexuality and gender.

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