Bishop John Wesley Yohanna and his cabinet have departed from The United Methodist Church of Nigeria, prompting the denomination’s bishops to appoint interim leadership until episcopal elections later this year.
In a press briefing on July 29, Yohanna announced his decision to join the Global Methodist Church, a breakaway denomination founded in 2022 by former United Methodists seeking a more conservative approach. He submitted his resignation to the United Methodist Council of Bishops on the same day.
Bishop Tracy S. Malone, the council president, along with other council leaders, is collaborating with the West Africa College of Bishops and the Episcopacy Committee to identify interim leadership for the church in Nigeria, according to a council press release issued on July 30.
In a letter to fellow bishops, Malone requested prayers for Yohanna and the church in Nigeria.
“We are saddened by his decision to no longer continue ministry with The United Methodist Church,” she wrote. “I invite us to pray for our former colleague and the church in Nigeria, especially for those who choose to remain in The United Methodist Church. This is a very difficult and confusing time for them.”
Malone also urged general secretaries and bishops with covenantal relationships in Nigeria to withhold sending funds or to place them in escrow, “until new episcopal leadership … and new mechanisms are in place,” the press release stated.
Yohanna was set to retire as bishop at the end of this year. The West Africa Central Conference will elect three new bishops in December, with one appointed to Nigeria.
Yohanna’s departure ends months of speculation and marks the culmination of at least three years of intense infighting over leadership within The United Methodist Church in Nigeria, including formal complaints filed with the council regarding the bishop’s leadership. It also stymies years of reconciliation efforts and agreements involving the West Africa Central Conference College of Bishops and the denomination’s Council of Bishops to restore peace amid escalating conflicts within the Nigerian church, resulting in the arrest of pastors and a lay member under the bishop’s orders.
On July 24, a group of United Methodists from the North East and Southern Nigeria conferences met at McBride United Methodist Church in Jalingo and decided to leave the church. They cited the recent decision by The United Methodist Church’s General Conference to redefine marriage in the Social Principles, remove anti-LGBTQ language from the Book of Discipline, and permit the ordination of “self-avowed practicing gay clergy.” Those members asserted that the General Conference’s actions were incompatible with biblical teachings.
Announcing the decision, Yohanna stated: “The cabinet of the Southern Nigeria annual conference, in conjunction with the North East, therefore reject the developments in the UMC and adhere to biblical teachings; we will follow the body of Jesus Christ. I stand by the decision of the cabinet, and that is what I will abide by.”
The Nigeria Episcopal Area comprises these two conferences along with the Central and Northern Nigeria conferences.
The denomination’s Book of Discipline delineates specific rules regarding decision-making that affects individual annual conferences. Conferences must convene separately, with voting conducted by duly elected representatives.
During his press briefing, Yohanna addressed the Nigerian president, other government officials, and members of the media, confirming that he and his followers have officially exited the denomination for the new church. On June 1, he had previously declared to UM News and other Nigerian public and church media that he was a bishop of The United Methodist Church.
Following his announcement, signage for the Global Methodist Church was erected at several churches and at the episcopal offices in Mile Six, Jalingo, which houses the church’s head offices, hospital, and orphanage. The late bishops Done P. Dabale and Kefas K. Mavula are also interred on the campus.
The United Methodist Church in Nigeria has been riven by conflict between factions led by Yohanna and his former assistant, the Rev. Ande I. Emmanuel, who has pledged to remain in The United Methodist Church. Emmanuel filed a lawsuit against Yohanna and the Nigeria Episcopal Area’s board of trustees, claiming that the episcopal leader intended to leave the denomination and take church properties with him.
A third group, identifying itself as the Southern Conference of The United Methodist Church, separated from the episcopal area approximately 11 years ago, rejecting Yohanna’s authority, and has continued to use The United Methodist Church name and emblem.
The conflict between the bishop and his former aide arose from differing visions for the future of the church. Emmanuel submitted a complaint to the denomination’s bishops against Yohanna, blaming him for punishing those committed to remaining with The United Methodist Church by having them arrested. Yohanna had repeatedly asserted that he would join a new denomination, taking the episcopal area and its church properties with him if the General Conference permitted same-sex marriage and the ordination of “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy.
In 2022, members of the West Africa College of Bishops and the Council of Bishops mediated a just resolution agreement between Yohanna and Emmanuel. However, the conflict persisted, leading to another agreement—the Nigeria Path Forward Covenant—reached in March of this year. This agreement was crafted with input from the West Africa college and the Council of Bishops, represented by Bishop John Schol, who leads the Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey conferences; Bishop Patrick Streiff of the Central and Southern Europe Central Conference; and retired Bishop David Yemba of the Congo Central Conference. Both Yohanna and Emmanuel contributed to and endorsed the covenant.
The Path Forward aimed to restore peace within the church and enhance the United Methodist presence in Nigeria. The plan called for both sides to withdraw their legal actions against one another. Consequently, Emmanuel’s group petitioned the court to retract the property case, which the judge granted, directing the group to cover the church’s court costs of 300,000 naira, approximately US$180.67. Two weeks later, when Yohanna announced his departure from the church, he also assumed control of the property.
Though both Yohanna and Emmanuel claimed majority support among church members, the precise following of each leader remained unclear. Membership in Nigeria was recorded at about 602,000, according to 2023 data from the General Council on Finance and Administration. The agency reported that the Southern Nigeria Conference, where Emmanuel is based, is home to 296,500 members—nearly half of the United Methodists in the episcopal area.
Commenting on Yohanna’s departure, Emmanuel clarified that the entire episcopal area had not left The United Methodist Church; rather, it was a small faction. “It is only a breakaway group (10%) led by Bishop John Wesley Yohanna that has decided to leave. The majority of the UMC Nigeria episcopal area remains committed to The United Methodist Church.”
For three years since his removal as the bishop’s assistant, Emmanuel has led a parallel group with its own leadership and programs. While Yohanna announced his decision to leave at McBride United Methodist Church, Emmanuel and his leaders, along with annual conference members—known as delegates in Nigeria—gathered at a separate venue in the same town.
When asked about the future of United Methodist Church properties, which encompass sanctuaries, guest houses, schools, hospitals, and orphanages, Emmanuel asserted that the answer was clear. “The property stays with the United Methodists because, in Nigeria, we adhere to the Book of Discipline and the trust clause, and because most Nigerians are choosing to remain with The United Methodist Church.” The denomination’s trust clause stipulates that all church properties are held in trust on behalf of the entire United Methodist Church.
In a statement to United Methodists in Nigeria, Emmanuel and others expressed their dismay at Yohanna’s exit from the church.
“Despite the presence of a structured process and opportunities to collaborate with the United Methodist delegates in Nigeria, he opted to bypass these avenues,” the group stated. “This has created a situation that could have been managed with greater unity and consideration for our collective future.”
Last week, the Nigerian government closed several churches in the state of Gombe amidst rising tensions. The United Methodist group reassured its members that the closures were temporary and informed them that they had contacted the Council of Bishops, requesting an interim bishop for Nigeria.
Bishop Schol visited Nigeria from July 20-23 to listen to concerns and help mediate the crisis.
“You are vital to the future of the church. I am here to listen, to understand, and to assist the Nigerian church in moving forward,” he told church leaders on July 22, eliciting thunderous applause. “I know there have been deep divisions in the church and that you desire unity. You want the church to come together, to work collaboratively in proclaiming Jesus Christ, and that’s what we must begin to address.”
However, the day after Schol’s departure, Yohanna’s supporters in the North East and Southern conferences chose to leave The United Methodist Church.
The Book of Discipline’s Paragraph 572 outlines a multistep process for conferences outside the United States to become autonomous. For the Nigerian conferences, those steps include formal votes by the annual conferences, as well as approval from the West Africa Central Conference, the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters, and the General Conference. According to the procedure outlined in Paragraph 572, the Nigerian conferences cannot officially leave until late 2028 at the earliest. Furthermore, the provision does not address the transfer to another denomination, such as the Global Methodist Church.
Four Eurasian annual conferences—encompassing congregations in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan—followed the Paragraph 572 process and received approval at the recent General Conference to leave and form the autonomous Christian Methodist Church. Eurasia’s departure will become official in April next year.
The Council of Bishops reports that the Côte d’Ivoire Conference, which voted to leave in May, is following Paragraph 572’s process to once again become an autonomous church.
The United Methodist Church has witnessed conferences departing without adhering to church law. In 2022, the Bulgarian segment of the Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Annual Conference voted to leave and join the Global Methodist Church. Meanwhile, the Romanians are remaining United Methodist and planning a new future with the Hungary Annual Conference.
[UMNews]
