La Croix Church votes to disaffiliate from United Methodist Church

Members of Cape Girardeau's La Croix Church voted overwhelmingly this week to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, following hundreds of other congregations that have done so across the country in recent months.

Members of the one of the largest church bodies in Cape voted 579 to 36 — 94% — in favor of disaffiliation, far exceeding the required two-thirds threshold. The Church Council — the governing body for La Croix — voted to leave the denomination in December.

La Croix has an estimated 1,900 members in total. The vote will also affect the Benton, Missouri, satellite campus. The disaffiliation will be finalized with a ratification of the congregation's vote at the Missouri Annual Conference in June.

"I believe last night's decision allows us to live fully into the future God has for us," pastor Ron Watts said in an email to the congregation following the vote. "La Croix's mission of 'leading people to wholeheartedly follow Jesus' will continue to beckon us to the future. We will continue to be 'outwardly-focused', loving and welcoming all people."

The disaffilitation will not change the church's leadership or the nature of weekly services.

If the split is ratified, La Croix will be required to pay two years of the congregation's apportionment — funds paid to UMC for the workings of the denomination — and the unfunded liability for the clergy's pension plan.

Watts, in comments shortly after the Church Council vote, said the schism of the second-largest Protestant denomination had often been boiled down to the issue of the intersection of LGBTQ+ people with church's teachings. He said it was more about orthodox viewpoints versus liberal viewpoints on religion.

UMC has moved toward the more liberal viewpoint in recent years when it comes to a stance on LGBTQ+ individuals. The denomination elected its first openly gay bishop in November, and its five jursidictions approved measures that would "protect, affirm and empower" LGBTQ+ individuals.

The denomination still holds an official ban on same-sex marriage and the ordination of any "self-avowed, practicing homosexual". The topic has been debated at every UMC General Conference for the last 50 years, and the bans can only be lifted by the legislative section at that conference. The next one will be held next year.

"Those who hold to historic, orthodox views will have a greater difficulty navigating this environment and staying true to their understanding of the Christian faith," Watts said in December.

Those orthodox views surrounded the nature of salvation and the interpretation of the role of Scripture, among other things, Watts said previously.

"The real issues are much deeper and broader. The two major camps within the United Methodist Chruch have known for some time that we have irreconcilable differences on some of the most basic aspects of Christian life," the senior pastor added.

The Methodist schism led to the creation of Global Methodist Church, a more conservative denomination that has added droves of disaffiliating churches to its ranks. Watts said in December that there as no decision made on whether La Croix would look to join the GMC or another denomination.

Statement

The senior pastor's full statement on the vote:

Dear Friends,

Last night the members of La Croix Church voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist denomination by a vote of 579-36, or 94% in favor of disaffiliation.

I believe last night's decision allows us to live fully into the future God has for us. La Croix's mission of "leading people to wholeheartedly follow Jesus" will continue to beckon us to the future. We will continue to be "outwardly-focused," loving and welcoming all people.

We'll aspire to "thrive in community" and "never stop moving towards Jesus."

Thank you for walking through this process as a church with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Thank you for remaining focused on Jesus. We have a bright future with much good to come.

The final step in disaffiliation is for the vote to be ratified by the Missouri Annual Conference in June. Please join us in prayer for a grace-filled conclusion to this process and, most importantly, that Jesus is honored and glorified.

In His Grip,

Ron