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After disaffiliation wave, Chattanooga-area United Methodists bodies seek to grow leaner

Contributed photo / Holston Conference church representatives gathered in 2023 at Central United Methodist Church in Knoxville to ratify the disaffiliation of 264 congregations. The conference, consisting of the 500-plus churches that remain, has since trimmed its budget. Contributed photo / Holston Conference church representatives gathered in 2023 at Central United Methodist Church in Knoxville to ratify the disaffiliation of 264 congregations. The conference, consisting of the 500-plus churches that remain, has since trimmed its budget.

By Andrew Schwartz June 21, 2024 5 min read

Budgets trimmed. Retiring staff positions left unfilled. After a historic schism cleaved thousands of churches from one of the nation’s largest denominations, United Methodist governing bodies around Chattanooga are getting leaner.

The local changes come months after the worldwide denomination of now roughly 10 million people approved the largest budget cut in its history, according to its news service.

The 40% cut will result in the consolidation of several denomination-backed ministries, and it reflected a stark fact: The United Methodist Church said it has lost a third of its U.S. churches since 2019.

The figure mostly reflects the departure of theologically conservative churches that, among other things, objected to what they said was a liberal drift of the denomination on LGBTQ+ policy. But it also factors in churches that have simply shuttered in recent years.