PAYNESVILLE – The 72nd United Methodist Church has cut ties with the United Methodist Church (UMC), citing irreconcilable differences over the denomination’s approval of same-sex marriage and the controversial Regionalization Plan.
In a resounding rejection of the UMC’s direction, the congregation voted overwhelmingly on February 3, 2025, against the Regionalization Plan, which was adopted at the 2024 General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. The plan allows same-sex marriages within the global UMC—a stance the 72nd UMC deems unacceptable.
The vote tally left little room for doubt:
- Total Votes: 162
- No (to disaffiliate): 160
- Yes: 0
- Invalid: 2
One week later, on February 9, 2025, a second decisive vote formally severed the 72nd UMC’s ties with the “New UMC.”
- Total Votes: 151
- Yes (to disaffiliate): 149
- No: 2
In a firm statement, church leaders declared they could no longer “in good conscience remain a part of the UMC in general, and the Liberia Annual Conference (LAC) in particular.”
Rev. Jackson: ‘Same-Sex Marriage is Demonic’
Rev. Kenneth Jackson, the church’s spiritual leader, minced no words about the decision, calling the breakaway painful but necessary to preserve biblical truth.
“We are being deceived, and we need to understand that this is not the right way to serve God,” he declared.
Doubling down on his stance, Rev. Jackson called same-sex marriage “demonic” and vowed to protect his congregation from what he views as a theological deviation.
“I will not sit here and watch my people go to hell,” he said.
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