Dishonest disaffiliations

 are addressed in a lesson for the online UMC laity course Life Together in the United Methodist Connection.

According to that lesson, disapproval of the current UMC policy regarding the LGBTQ community isn't necessarily the reason why some congregations disaffiliated from the UMC.

Pride Month 2025 at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church

Here is an excerpt from the lesson:

". . . many disaffiliations have given a bare nod to 'reasons of conscience related to' inclusion of LGBTQ folks in church leadership.  Some pastors and leaders have openly acknowledged  (and some have not admitted openly) that their motives in pushing for disaffiliation are for other reasons, such as the desire: 

 to hire their own pastors, escaping from the connection and the itineracy 

 to avoid paying apportionments 

 not to be accountable to district or conference authorities regarding property 

 not to be accountable regarding salary and benefits minimums for staff

In any case, the important thing for you as a leader in the church is to know and speak honestly about these matters, without anger. For Christ will continue to work through Christ’s churches in all their formats, but a decision based on misinformation or even disinformation (such as that which is far too common) is an unhealthy way to begin."

If congregations disaffiliated for the other reasons listed above, then I do not see the loss of those congregations as being harmful to the UMC in the long run.

Sure, a loss of revenue from those congregations might have a short-term negative effect on the operations of the global UMC. 

However, if the leaders of those congregations were grumbling about the way that the UMC operates, then those congregations were probably not a good fit for the UMC.

As I see it, it is better for the UMC to be a smaller cohesive group than to be a larger non-cohesive group.