A Texas megachurch that previously attempted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church without a congregational vote has now successfully voted to leave the denomination.

As reported by The Christian Post, last week, St. Andrew Methodist Church of Plano held a congregational vote to disaffiliate from the mainline denomination, with 98.6 percent (871-12) of those present voting to leave. The megachurch is one of the largest congregations in the UMC North Texas Annual Conference.

In a statement emailed to The Christian Post, St. Andrew's leadership explained that after the church's initial attempt to leave the denomination, the congregation "engaged in meaningful and productive conversations" with regional UMC leadership "to finalize terms of our disaffiliation."

"St. Andrew's goal has always been to disaffiliate while still maintaining relationships with the UMC and blessing each other in mission for the future," the statement continued.

A portion of the final disaffiliation agreement includes a settlement with the regional body that would require a "payment of necessary apportionments and pension liabilities."

"St. Andrew will remain an independent Methodist church for some period and will not be affiliating with any existing Methodist denominations," the church's statement reads. "St. Andrew is exploring new affiliations with other mission-focused Methodist and Wesleyan churches, both large and small, to grow the Kingdom of God."

Last Wednesday, the regional body said that the next step is for the disaffiliation vote to be affirmed at a Special Called Session on March 4.

"St. Andrew UMC has met the requirements for disaffiliation," the conference said in a statement. "St. Andrew's commitment to pay the necessary apportionments and pension liabilities and to honor the North Texas Conference's terms for disaffiliation."

Last October, St. Andrew sought to disaffiliate from the UMC without a congregational vote, claiming that it was unnecessary.

"St. Andrew's decision was made in accordance with its governing legal documents, which allowed the decision to be made without a congregational vote. St. Andrew stands by the legal enforceability of its decision, and it is overwhelmingly supported by the church members," St. Andrew's leadership stated at the time.

"St. Andrew's leadership comprises a variety of individuals, all with unique professional experience and personal views that are representative of our congregation. They collectively spent hundreds of hours of in-depth research examining both the decision to disaffiliate and the mechanism to make the decision."

In recent years, congregations have departed from the UMC due to an ongoing debate on LGBT issues.

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