| Congregational Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Methodism |
| Orientation | Wesleyan-Holiness movement |
| Theology | 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 | 209 (2024)[1] |
| Members | 14,738 (1995) |
| Official website | Official website |
TheCongregational Methodist Church (CMC) is aMethodistdenomination of Christianity based in North America. It is aligned with theHoliness movement and adheres toWesleyan-Arminian theology. As of 1995[update], the denomination reported 14,738 members in 187 churches.[2][needs update]
The Congregational Methodist Church was founded inGeorgia in 1852 when several churches split from theMethodist Episcopal Church, South, out of a desire to blend Methodist doctrine withcongregational polity.
The Congregational Methodist Church isWesleyan-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.
As of late 2024 its congregations are located inAlabama,Florida,Georgia,Indiana,Iowa,Louisiana,Massachusetts,Mississippi,Missouri,New Jersey,New Mexico,Ohio,Oklahoma,South Carolina,Tennessee,Texas,Virginia,Wisconsin, and the Mexican states ofCoahuila andTamaulipas. It also has missionaries in the United States,Mexico,Belize, andHaiti.
In 1944, the Congregational Methodist Church, then headquartered inDallas, Texas, established The Dallas Bible School, an institution of higher education. The school was moved toTehuacana, Texas, for several years, and was renamed Westminster College and Bible Institute. The school was permanently relocated toFlorence, Mississippi in 1972, and was renamedWesley College, a name that reflected its Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. Wesley College was closed in July 2010.[3]
The church's denominational headquarters are located inFlorence, Mississippi,[4] serving churches and programs of the denomination.
In 2023, a few congregations of theUnited 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.[5][6][7] In 2024 they were followed by numerous others.
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.