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Abundant Joy after Loss

By Morgan Howe

Children’s time with Rev. John Beyers and church staff during morning worship at Wesley Methodist Church in LaGrange, GA.

Like scores of Global Methodist local churches, Wesley Methodist Church in LaGrange, Georgia, is the result of a failed disaffiliation vote at a United Methodist local church. According to the terms of a since expired disaffiliation provision adopted at the UM Church’s called 2019 General Conference, congregations could disaffiliate from the denomination if two-thirds of its members voted to do so. When the people of First United Methodist Church of LaGrange gathered for such a vote on August 13, 2023, those wanting to exit lost their bid to do so by 13 votes out of 545 casts.

For the 65 percent who voted to disaffiliate, the result came as a gut-punch. Many of them were born into the church, and were baptized, confirmed, married, and raised their families there. They have loved ones inurned in the church’s columbarium, and have purchased niches for themselves.

First UM Church of LaGrange was established in 1828 as the first church in Troup County, Georgia. It is the only 19th-century institution in LaGrange that still occupies its original location. The campus features an impressive 650-seat neo-classical sanctuary, a three-story education building, and a large two-story Methodist Ministries Center, encompassing a total of 80,000 square feet located in the city’s historic downtown area.

“In the five years I was the senior minister, First UM Church of LaGrange grew spiritually, numerically, and financially,” said the Rev. Dr. John Beyers, the church’s senior minister at the time of the vote. “We initiated a church-wide Soul Connections small group ministry, began a modern worship service, expanded our Soup Kitchen mission and Meals on Wheels deliveries, addressed years of deferred maintenance, launched a major media outreach just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and completed – debt free – a $500,000 renovation of the ministries center, and renovations of the church offices, youth center, welcome center, conference room, Sunday School rooms, and sacristy, and significant work on the pipe organ.”

Stunned and dispirited, the members who voted to disaffiliate wondered how they should respond to their situation. They organized a meeting at the church the night after the vote to consider their options, but were informed they could not meet in the building if starting a new Methodist church was going to be a topic for discussion. They met again on another night at a different location, and faced the hard decision of leaving a church they and their ancestors had helped build over generations.

“It was very hard for most to walk away because of the rich memories that were formed there,” said Beyers. “It was not so much about the brick and mortar, but about the place where important life-moments happened, where the seeds of saving faith were planted and nurtured to grow.”

However, as hard as it was, many did walk away, and Beyers and most of the church’s staff followed. One week after the failed disaffiliation vote they all settled into a roomy gymnasium that a local Baptist church opened to them. On their first Sunday, 235 people were in attendance, and less than two months later, Wesley Methodist Church (a GM Church congregation) was chartered with 331 members and $1 million committed to mission and ministry. Beyers serves as the new congregation’s senior pastor and as a presiding elder in the North Georgia Conference of the GM Church.

The members of Wesley Methodist are making the most of their situation and have embraced their gymnasium worship space. Each Sunday morning, they begin their service by singing “Surely the Presence of the Lord Is In This Place,” which members say sets a positive tone for the entire service.

The transition from First UM Church of LaGrange to Wesley Methodist Church came at a very difficult time for Beyers. In June 2023, he was diagnosed with ampullary cancer, a rare form of gastrointestinal cancer located where the liver, pancreas, gall bladder, and small intestine intersect. Fortunately, the large malignant tumor was successfully removed, but the surgery required a Whipple procedure to reconstruct his digestive tract. After undergoing 13 rounds of chemotherapy, Beyers is now cancer-free, 13 months after the initial diagnosis.

“We have gained far more than we lost,” said Beyers. “We’ve gained a spirit of renewal: renewal of personal faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, of trust in one another, and of coming together as the body of Christ as we all “contend for the faith” and stand on level ground before the cross.”

The people of the Wesley Methodist Church are excited about the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in their growing community. Located at the intersection of Interstates 85 and 185, LaGrange, is in the center of Georgia’s two largest metropolitan areas: Atlanta and Columbus. The city boasts a thriving business and retail base, along with rich visual and performing arts, and LaGrange College, a historic Methodist institution founded in 1831, is a fixture in the town.

“I think we are a much bolder group since we launched Wesley Methodist Church,” said Dr. John Jackson, chairperson of the church council. His family served the former church for five generations, dating back to 1886. “We’re witnessing boldly and there’s no hesitation to invite people to our new church. There’s also a sense of freedom worshipping in the gymnasium. The whole transition has helped us re-align our priorities; we’re a group of people who love each other and love the Lord.”

The congregation is now a member of the GM Church’s North Georgia Provisional Annual Conference. Its lay and clergy delegates attended the convening conference in May 2024 in Norcross, Georgia. During the conference, Beyers was elected a General Conference delegate and will represent North Georgia at the GM Church’s convening General Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, scheduled for September 20-26, 2024.

“We all share the same vision for the future of the GM Church and where we’re going,” said Bobby Carmichael, the lay leader at Wesley Methodist. “As long as we are unified, we’ll be able to make the right decisions.”

Despite all the challenges of the past year, the people of Wesley Methodist Church firmly believe they are on the right path. On August 18, 2024, Wesley Methodist Church will celebrate its one-year anniversary as a GM Church. Bishop Scott Jones will be in attendance to preach and celebrate with them, and the service will be followed by a luncheon at a local nature conservation center.

“We don’t ask God to come to us, we come into the reality that he is already here,” said Beyers. “He has enabled us to see him, feel him, hear him in a Baptist church gym and to start every Sunday morning with abundant joy.”

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Morgan Howe is a GM Church communications intern and a recent graduate of Texas Tech University.

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