Mass Exodus of African & Asian Churches from Western Denominations over Homosexuality

African and Asian churches are splitting from western denominations in large numbers over homosexuality.

Historic divisions are happening in western denominations as senior clergy members clarify their stance on homosexual marriage and LGBTQ+ issues. Denominations such as Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Mennonites, Presbyterians and other protestant denominations have faced large exoduses in the last ten years over these issues, but out of the brokenness is emerging something beautiful.

As western denominations stray from Biblical teachings to appease worldly desires, churches in Africa and Asia are standing strong with the Word of God and breaking off from their mother churches. This is revealing the strong shift in Christian demographics that has been taking place in the last 100 years.

On May 28, United Methodist Church Ivory Coast, a body of about 1 million believers, announced a surprising departure from the denomination’s annual conference.

Bishop Benjamin Boni, president of the annual conference, accused the United Methodist Church of sacrificing its integrity and charged that the denomination had distanced itself from Scripture, thereby making the UMC no longer suitable for Ivorian Methodists.

The Methodist Church Ivory Coast is a mission plant, started by William Wade Harris in 1914, but today the church has shown that they independently follow the Word of God, even if the entire denomination strays from it.

When the Presbyterian church in the United States voted to allow same sex marriage, it sent shock waves through South Korea – a country with 20,000 Presbyterian churches. However, though the American denomination made new bylaws that allowed the marriage of homosexuals, the Korean Presbyterian church did not follow along.

Two months ago, one of the largest religious gatherings of Presbyterians in the country’s history occurred in Seoul in October with about 1.1 million participants opposing same sex marriage.

The rally was held in the form of a church service with Christians vehemently opposing the secularization of God’s Word.

This debate among the denominations is showing the independence of the churches in Africa and Asia to stand strong with the Word of the Lord, even when their founding denominations wander from it.