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  • Timeline

    • June 2019 South GA Conference approved a disaffiliation policy, thereby allowing churches to leave the Annual Conference with all assets.
    • Summer 2019 FHUMC leadership discussed disaffiliation but thought a “wait and see” approach was best at this time.
    • December 17, 2019 The Protocol of Reconciliation of Grace through Separation was written. FHUMC and the South GA Annual Conference placed a lot of hope in this legislation passing at General Conference. We believed this would allow all the churches of South GA to disaffiliate together and form a post-UMC denomination in our area.
    • March 2022 General Conference of 2020, postponed until 2022 because of Covid, was further postponed until 2024.
    • June 2022 Five of the original authors/signers of the Protocol, including the agencies they represent, withdrew their support for this legislation saying it “no longer offers a viable path forward.” Two others died.
    • June 2022 The lay delegates and Baxter reached out to Craig Hutto, our District Superintendent, for an informational meeting regarding disaffiliation. This is the first exploratory step required by our policy. He held this meeting on June 20 at FH.
    • July 6 at 6:30 PM Disaffiliation information meeting. We will have a questions and answers session.
    • July 17 at 4 PM Second disaffiliation question and answer meeting.
    • July 27 at 6:30 PM Official church conference was held for the sole purpose of voting on disaffiliation. The motion passed by 85% (257 of 304 votes).  
    • Aug 20 Special called Annual Conference for South Georgia Annual Conference. Our disaffiliation decision must be ratified by the South GA Annual Conference. Within 30 days following that vote, Forest Hills will be legally separated from the UMC.
    • Future process: We sense that staying independent is not in the best interests of Forest Hills long term. The oversight, accountability, expanded reach, staffing solutions and other blessings connected with denominations are too great to ignore, as are the serious limitations of staying independent. The church will enter a time of prayerful discernment regarding the best denominational fit for our context.

  • The Disaffiliation Process

    • What is “disaffiliation” from The United Methodist Church (UMC)?
    • "Disaffiliation” is a process whereby a United Methodist Church can separate from The United Methodist Denomination while keeping its property and assets. Since FHUMC is a United Methodist Church, if we want to separate from the denomination, this process is required.

    • Who made the recommendation for FHUMC to begin the process for disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church?
    • After our informational meeting with the District Superintendent, the Executive Committee of FHUMC recommended we pursue a congregational vote on disaffiliation. The church membership has the final vote on whether the church should disaffiliate.

    • Why disaffiliate?
    • Many in our congregation have come to believe that remaining part of the United Methodist Church hinders our ability to fulfill our God-given mission. Our desire to separate is based primarily on four areas:
    • Theology: We believe the United Methodist Church has drifted steadily from its historic Christian theological foundation. This includes differences in approach to the authority of Scripture, the unique claims of Jesus as the Son of God, and issues pertaining to human sexuality and ordination. While the Articles of Religion in the Book of Discipline cannot change, they are widely ignored and undermined by many in leadership. Dr. Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary, put it bluntly, “We need to remember afresh what this whole struggle has been over the last 50 years. It is not about human sexuality. It has not been about the terms of separation. It’s not about the Trust Clause. These have served as some of the presenting issues. The struggle has been about nothing less than the recovery of biblical, apostolic Christianity. It is about a prolonged and fresh encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ who alone is the Lord of the church and who has promised us that He will build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It is about a renewal of our Wesleyan message of holiness, sanctification, and the re-directed heart, and the Spirit-filled life.”
    • Governance: Through continued postponements and inaction, the UMC has rejected the processes by which disagreements are to be resolved. Proper denominational governance has eroded, resulting in leadership abusing their power and disregarding or selectively applying the Book of Discipline. The rules we have agreed to abide by have been forsaken.
    • Focus: The division within our denomination has become a distraction from our mission and will only become more so the longer it continues.
    • Stewardship: Member churches of the UMC are asked to pay yearly apportionments to the conference, and for FHUMC that amounts to over $100,000. Nearly 24 percent of this goes to the General Church. In the face of denominational division, abuse of power and decline, we no longer see this as money well spent.

    • Why does FH have to leave when it is in compliance with Discipline? Why not hold rogue bishops, clergy, and agencies accountable?
    • The reason FH “has to” leave pertains to the second question. We have no opportunity to take action against a rogue bishop or conference. The UMC is regional in orientation. This dates to the racist ways of the country years ago. The southern part of the country didn’t want to join the Methodist Episcopal church and the Methodist Protestant Church in 1939 unless all black churches were segregated into a central conference. This way no bishops or clergy of color would be appointed to a white church or conference.
    • At the Uniting Conference of 1968, the church voted to remove the central conference, undoing the legacy of racism. However, they maintained the jurisdictional structure of the ME Church in the newly formed UMC. This system creates significant problems. We are left with one region, say a biblically traditional area like the South Eastern Jurisdiction, powerless to act against infractions of the Book of Discipline that take place in another Jurisdiction. So we have parts of the country (jurisdictions and conferences) that refuse to live under or uphold the Discipline they swore to uphold, while those of us who do are stuck in a union with them.
    • The country at large doesn’t know our polity or structure, and lump us all together. As progressive bishops and pastors speak and publish things contrary to the Bible or our Discipline, the country at large doesn’t know that traditionalists have no way of reigning these folks in, nor does the country know that those folks do not speak for the entire church. All uninformed individuals see is a group going against historic Christianity and they lump all UMC’s together. We are often counted as heretical by association and have to routinely fight against this.
    • Growing tired of this fight and feeling as if the entire UMC is slipping away from its historic foundations, many have reached the lamentable decision that they “have to” leave denomination.

    • Why now?
    • Separating from the UMC now will allow us to move forward in our mission without these persisting, divisive entanglements. The ongoing conflict within the United Methodist Church has become a distraction as animosity within the denomination grows. We can no longer in good conscience sit back and wait for others to determine our future. We believe it will eventually become more costly to leave, if indeed leaving remains an option long term. Paragraph 2553 of the Discipline that allows churches to disaffiliate expires nationally on December 31, 2023. Our conference has extended this an additional year. Taken together, these recent upheavals in both the UMC structure and the processes available for local church disaffiliation signal to traditionalist churches who wish to uphold Wesleyan principles that leaving sooner rather than later is the best approach.

    • If we vote to disaffiliate, what happens next?
    • If a 2/3 majority of the church members present at our Church Conference vote to approve the disaffiliation, FHUMC would enter into a disaffiliation agreement with the Conference Board of Trustees. This agreement would spell out the details and legalities of moving forward, all of which we are prepared for. Part of this involves a financial cost to leave the denomination. The cost includes an unfunded pension liability for the denomination and apportionments due per the agreement. Our number currently is as follows:
    • Unfunded Pension Liability as of June 1 — $174,210.
    • One year of apportionments — $101,029
    • Plus any unpaid apportionments year to date — should be zero
    • Total financial cost of disaffiliation — $275,239

    • If the vote passes, FH would join a currently forming, small network of formerly United Methodist Churches.
    • The present 2016 edition of the United Methodist Book of Discipline would remain in effect in matters pertaining to governing a local church (without appeal to or support from the DS and Bishop). In other words, Trustees, Finance, Staff Parish, and Missions committees would continue to operate as they do now. This would remain in effect until the church passes new bylaws or until FH affiliates with a denomination.

    • Would we change our theology or our church services?
    • From the perspective of members and attenders, things would remain very much the same. FH would continue following the faith and practices developed in the Wesleyan and Methodist traditions. We have been saying for five plus years that regardless of what may come, we intend to be who we have always been — a loving and diverse congregation who welcomes everyone, a Spirit-filled church with three distinct and vibrant worship services, a generous church that is active in community outreach and support, a discipling church where followers of Jesus are encouraged and given opportunities to grow in their faith, and an evangelistic church where we continue to proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the world and invite persons into a vital relationship with God.

    • Who would hold our leadership accountable?
    • Until we prayerfully determine the best denominational fit for FH, our Church Board, made up of lay leaders and staff, would continue to oversee our congregational direction and faithfulness. The Senior Pastor will continue to answer directly to the Staff Parish Relations Committee, and all other staff will report to the Senior Pastor and the SPRC.

    • What would our church’s view of human sexuality be? Is this the reason we’re leaving the UMC?
    • Media attention has centered on issues of human sexuality, but this is not the primary focus of our decision. While we continue to uphold the historic/biblical view of human sexuality and marriage, our primary aim in separation is to keep Forest Hills focused on its mission and well equipped to carry it out. We will continue to lead with a heart of love and compassion for all people, regardless of individual sexual orientation or beliefs, and welcome everyone with the same love we have been shown!

    • What would our church’s view of women in leadership be?
    • We would continue to support women in leadership and in ministry at all levels, including preaching/teaching. We do this, not despite biblical authority, but because of our understanding of the overall witness of scripture rightly interpreted on this matter. We hold the belief that God made male and female as two different and complementary genders, so our view could be labeled biblical, complementarian egalitarianism (fancy theological position on equality of men and women).

    • How would I transfer my membership from Forest Hills United Methodist Church to the new church?
    • Unless you notify us otherwise, if the vote to disaffiliate passes, we will transfer your membership to the new church on your behalf. If you wish to remain a part of The United Methodist Church, we will help you connect with a local UMC church in our area, so you can transfer your membership to that church.

    • How can I pray?
    • Pray that all who lead and represent FHUMC and the UMC through this process would seek and show the mind and love of Christ in all they do and say.
    • Pray for the already tarnished image of the Church in the wake of this conflict. May we find ways to show that Christ’s love and grace lives in us in all circumstances.
    • Pray for the UMC. It has been our home for decades, and for many members, the earlier version of the UMC, the Methodist Episcopal Church, has been a home even longer. Pray for leaders who will live out their vow of accountability under the Book of Discipline.
    • Pray for FHUMC.  We know that Forest Hills will still be God’s church.
    • Pray for peace of mind. These are highly anxious times, but the peace of Christ can bring us calm in the midst of this storm.