Congregational Methodist Church

Congregational Methodist Church
Congregational Methodist Church
Classification	Wesleyan-Arminian
Polity	Congregational
Region	Worldwide
Headquarters	Florence, Mississippi
Origin	1852 ; Georgia
Separated from	Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Separations	First Congregational Methodist Church (1852); First Congregational Methodist Church of the USA (1941); Reformed New Congregational Methodist Church (1916); Southern Congregational Methodist Church (1982)
Congregations	187 (1995)
Members	14,738 (1995)
Official website	Official website

The Congregational Methodist Church (CMC) is a

Wesleyan-Arminian theology. As of 1995, the denomination reported 14,738 members in 187 churches.^[1]

Background

The Congregational Methodist Church was founded in

congregational

polity.

The Congregational Methodist Church is

Wesleyan-Arminian

in doctrine, congregational in its system of worship, republican or representative in its system of government, connexional in nature, missionary in outlook, evangelistic in endeavor, and cooperative in spirit. Each local church calls its pastor, owns its property, and sets its budget.

Its congregations are located in

Québec. It also has missionaries in the United States, Mexico, Belize, Haiti, Bolivia and Japan

.

In 1944, the Congregational Methodist Church, then headquartered in

Dallas, Texas, established The Dallas Bible School, an institution of higher education. The school was moved to Tehuacana, Texas, for several years, and was renamed Westminster College and Bible Institute. The school was permanently relocated to Florence, Mississippi in 1972, and was renamed Wesley College, a name that more reflected its Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. Wesley College was closed in July 2010.^[2]

The church's denominational headquarters is located in Florence, Mississippi,^[3] serving churches and programs of the denomination.

In 2023, a few congregations of the United Methodist Church left that denomination to join the Congregational Methodist Church due to a polarization that occurred between traditionalist Methodist clerics and those with progressive tendencies.^[4]^[5]^[6]

References

^ Mead, Frank, et al., Handbook of Denominations, 12th Edition, Abingdon Press, 2005.
^ Wright, Megan (July 14, 2010). "Debt-ridden Wesley College closing". Mississippi Business Journal. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
^ Congregational Methodist Church, WELCOME TO THE CONGREGATIONAL METHODIST CHURCH!, accessed 20 January 2023
^ Johnston, Jeff (24 May 2023). "Thousands of Congregations Leave United Methodist Church Over Biblical Concerns". Daily Citizen. Retrieved 3 May 2024. Others are joining more conservative Methodist groups, such as the Congregational Methodist Church, the Free Methodist Church, or the Global Methodist Church, an international denomination that launched just over a year ago.
^ Frazier, Terri Cowart (26 June 2023). "DISAFFILIATION: Porters Chapel United Methodist Church joins Eagle Lake and Redwood". The Vicksburg Post. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
^ Matthews, Cabe (2 August 2022). "The Center Cannot Hold". Firebrand Magazine. Retrieved 14 December 2022.