In a decision that has sent shockwaves throughout the religious community in Alabama, a megachurch has announced its intention to opt out of the United Methodist Church (UMC) due to concerns over the denomination’s theological direction.

Covenant United Methodist Church in Dothan, which holds about 2,600 members, voted last week to dissociate from the UMC, with 406 present members voting in favor of leaving, 64 voting against, and four without any votes.

According to a statement released by the church, church’s leadership came to the conclusion that the UMC was moving away from traditional Christian teachings on issues such as marriage and human sexuality. The United Methodist Church has been at the center of a fierce debate over these issues for several years, with some members pushing for greater inclusion of LGBTQ individuals while others maintain a more conservative stance. In recent months, tensions have reached a boiling point, with some churches threatening to leave the denomination if their views are not respected.

Kyle Gatlin, the Pastor of Covenant, said in a statement to The Christian Post that major reasons for wanting to leave included “the direction we saw the denomination was headed,” theologically. This includes how some bishops were refusing to enforce the UMC Book of Discipline’s rules prohibiting the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions. “We saw Episcopal leaders not enforcing the discipline. Churches and pastors blatantly ignoring the discipline. We saw this in our Jurisdiction and in others,” Gatlin said.

He further said that while “we did not see this in our own Annual Conference,” his church “felt like for the long term future of our church, now was the time to leave.”

For this Covenant church, the decision to opt-out was ultimately driven by a desire to remain faithful to its beliefs and to ensure that its members are not led astray by what it sees as a departure from biblical teachings. News of the church’s decision has been met with mixed reactions. Some members of the UMC have expressed disappointment, while others have expressed support for the church’s right to make its own decisions. Regardless of one’s personal views on the matter, there is no denying that the decision marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over the future of the UMC.

The process of their leaving continues on May 7 during the UMC Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference when a meeting to ratify votes of those leaving will be held.

It was suggested by the leadership of Covenant UMC that the congregation join the Global Methodist Church, a denomination recently launched to stand as a theological conservative option to the UMC.

As of now, it remains to be seen how many other churches will follow in the footsteps of this megachurch. But one thing is certain: the debate over the direction of the UMC is far from over, and it is likely to continue to be a major point of contention in the religious community for the foreseeable future.