Update: Dallas Megachurch Members Vote 90 Percent to Leave the United Methodist Church
Highland Park says it will worship as Highland Park Methodist Church, but its regional conference says a congregational vote alone does not end the church's ties, and a lawsuit is still pending.
See where this is ›DALLAS —
Members of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas have voted by a wide margin to leave The United Methodist Church. In a letter released Monday, Oct. 26, the church council said 4,775 ballots were cast in the Oct. 25-26 vote and 90.35 percent favored leaving, The Christian Post reported.
About one-third of the church's professing members voted. The council had unanimously recommended a “Yes” vote, and about 800 people attended a town hall meeting on the question before the balloting.
Church leaders called it “not an easy decision” and said it was made to preserve the church's “historic autonomy.” The congregation plans to begin worshiping as Highland Park Methodist Church this coming Sunday and aims to complete the changes the separation requires by Dec. 1.
The denomination's Horizon Texas Conference answered that a congregational vote alone does not end a local church's relationship with The United Methodist Church. Church representatives acknowledged the vote will not automatically settle the lawsuit the conference filed in August in Dallas County District Court.
That suit says church leaders filed a restated certificate of formation in November 2022 that renamed the church Highland Park Methodist Church, removed references to the denomination from its governing documents and limited members' role in governance. In a September response and counterclaim, the church said the 2022 changes were valid under Texas law and asked the court to dismiss the case. The church says it has kept paying its yearly contributions to the conference.
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. of the Horizon Texas Conference has said church property is held in trust for the denomination. In an Aug. 26 video he said, “None of us owns Highland Park United Methodist Church,” adding, “Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Not the bishop, not the senior pastor, not the church council.” He has said the conference wants the church to restore its pre-2022 governance, including the “United” name.
Founded in 1916 as University Church, Highland Park is the largest congregation in the Horizon Texas Conference. Denominational data cited by The Christian Post put its membership at about 15,000 as of 2024, with average weekly attendance above 4,000. Thousands of congregations have left The United Methodist Church in recent years in the dispute over its teaching on sexuality and marriage.
What we don't know yet: So far only The Christian Post has reported the vote result. The lawsuit between the church and the Horizon Texas Conference is still in court, and how the church's property will be settled is unknown.
