‘Preserving our historic autonomy’: Texas megachurch votes overwhelmingly to leave the UMC
A Texas megachurch currently in litigation with a regional body of The United Methodist Church over internal changes to its governing documents has voted overwhelmingly to leave the denomination.
Highland Park United Methodist Church of Dallas held a vote Oct. 25-26 asking members whether they wanted to disaffiliate from the UMC.
The Highland Park Church Council sent a letter to the congregation on Monday announcing that, of 4,775 votes cast, 90.35% voted to leave the denomination. About a third of the church’s professing members voted.
“Beginning this Sunday, we will worship as Highland Park Methodist Church, with the commitment to protect the mission, ministry, and future of our Church while still honoring our history and past,” the letter stated. “In the coming weeks, we will begin working to operationalize the changes required by this separation, with a goal to have that work completed by December 1, 2026.”
Highland Park leadership said that while the vote “was not an easy decision,” it was important for “preserving our historic autonomy, maintaining our longstanding voice in choosing and protecting our clergy, and remaining who we are as a church that has thrived for 110 years.”
“Our Church leadership is working thoughtfully and diligently through the steps ahead and will continue to communicate regularly,” the council added. “Our greatest opportunity is not simply in the decision we have made, but in what we will continue to build together.”
“We are eager to turn our full attention to the mission and ministries that make our Church such a special place and to the opportunities God has placed before us.”
The Horizon Texas Conference said in response that “a congregational vote does not, by itself, sever a local church’s relationship with the United Methodist Church.” Church representatives have acknowledged the vote will not automatically resolve the lawsuit.
Founded in 1916 as University Church, Highland Park is the largest church in the UMC Horizon Texas Conference. Former President George W. Bush periodically attends services there.
According to UMData, as of 2024, HPUMC had around 15,000 members, an average weekly worship attendance of over 4,000, and an income of more than $22 million.
In August, the Horizon Texas Conference sued HPUMC in Dallas County District Court, claiming the church “appears to be attempting to unilaterally sever” its ties to the UMC.
According to the lawsuit, Highland Park leaders filed a Restated Certificate of Formation in November 2022, which was an updated version of the church’s founding corporate charter under Texas law. The filing changed “the corporation’s name to Highland Park Methodist Church” and removed “all references to The United Methodist Church, the Conference, and the [UMC Book of Discipline] from its governing documents.”
The suit also alleges that Highland Park “adopted amended bylaws” that eliminated all references to the UMC and removed “the rights of HP Church members to participate in any matter ‘affecting or involving the Church’” and “the members’ right to participate in determining the denomination of HP Church, including selection of the Church Council, which would be chosen only by itself and answerable only to itself.”
In an Aug. 26 video message to Highland Park members, Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said he was “grieved” by the situation and that the lawsuit had to be filed.
“None of us owns Highland Park United Methodist Church,” Saenz said. “Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Not the bishop, not the senior pastor, not the church council.”
In September, Highland Park filed a formal response and counterclaim, arguing that the 2022 changes were valid under Texas law. The church asked the court to dismiss the suit.
The church leadership had also argued that it has continued to participate fully in the UMC since the changes. This included paying its annual financial contributions to the conference.
Earlier this month, Highland Park leaders held a town hall meeting to discuss the possibility of leaving the UMC, with approximately 800 people attending the gathering. On Oct. 15, the church council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the churchwide vote and recommending that members approve leaving.
At the meeting, multiple church council members alleged that the conference had mistreated their congregational leadership solely because of their lawful amending of the bylaws.
In a pastoral letter issued in response to the town hall, Saenz maintained that UMC properties are held in a trust for the benefit of the denomination, not owned outright by the local congregation.
"My concern has always been about governance, never about Highland Park's faith, its ministry, or its people. Changes were made to the church's governing documents in 2022, and the conference believes those changes don't fit with the covenant every United Methodist congregation shares," he said. "For many months, we sought to resolve this through conversation. When the concerns remained unresolved, the conference asked a civil court to help clarify the questions involved."
"What we have asked for is narrow," the UMC bishop continued. "We have asked that Highland Park restore the governance in place before 2022: reinstate 'United' in the church's legal name, restore references to the [UMC] Book of Discipline in its governing documents and restore members' participation in the governance of their church."
