"Growing Exodus: Churches Across States Split from United Methodist Church"
The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church has accepted the decision of 261 congregations to leave the denomination due to a divide on LGBTQ issues. This follows a 2019 decision by the national United Methodist Church allowing congregations to leave by the end of 2023. Over 6,000 congregations in the US have been approved for disaffiliation since 2019. The departing churches account for a significant percentage of the North Georgia Conference's nearly 700 churches. The disaffiliation will take effect at the end of November, and the departing churches must fulfill financial obligations and are prohibited from further litigation against the conference.