Mennonite World Conference regrets to announce that Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia has voted to withdraw from MWC membership.
After an extended period of prayerful deliberation and earnest discernment, the Meserete Kristos Church, assembled in national convention on 4 September 2026, reached a formal decision to withdraw from Mennonite World Conference. The motion was carried with 98.3% approval.
Church leaders from Meserete Kristos currently serving on MWC Commissions and Networks will resign from their positions effective that date.
Meserete Kristos was the largest MWC member church.
“Meserete Kristos Church confesses the full and final authority of the Holy Scriptures in all matters of faith and practice. Accordingly, we hold unwaveringly that Christian marriage is divinely instituted, covenantal in nature and constitutes a sacred and lifelong union between one man and one woman alone as the Word of God clearly teaches. It is with profound grief and heaviness of heart that we acknowledge the widening theological fracture within the global body of believers: a division that threatens the very unity of the Body of Christ. The decisive factor that has compelled us to separate from the Mennonite World Conference is its continued inclusion of churches and conferences that not only tolerate but also endorse, affirm and practice homosexuality, in direct contradiction to the clear and unchanging witness of the Holy Scripture,” says a statement from MKC leadership.
In November 2025, concerns were raised within Meserete Kristos’ membership about being linked with national churches whose policies affirm same-sex relationships. Over months of discussion within Meserete Kristos’s community – both in Ethiopia and among the global diaspora – the concerns culminated in the vote to leave.
“Like many global Christian denominations, MWC faces serious challenges as we seek to preserve the unity of the Holy Spirit amid divisive viewpoints on same-sex relationships,” says César García, MWC general secretary.
MWC has not taken a position on same-sex relationships. “For more than 12 years, we have prayerfully sought the best way forward amid disagreement, misunderstanding and unverified rumours about how MWC is addressing same-sex relationships,” says César García. “Through it all, one principle has guided us: when churches face disagreement, we are called by God to enter into dialogue and to discern God’s will together.”
“As they depart MWC, we pray a blessing on our brothers and sisters in Meserete Kristos. Their vibrancy and passion for evangelism has been an inspiration for many within our global communion. We pray that they continue to grow as they follow Jesus in the ways they have discerned,” says Henk Stenvers, MWC president.
“MWC honours the authority and diversity of local and national church structures, and their self-governance,” adds Henk Stenvers. “We will continue to focus on the seven key points expressed in our Shared Convictions, adopted by consensus by the General Council in 2006.
“Please keep MWC in your prayers as we seek to bear witness to God’s new creation, discern God’s will together and respond faithfully to our call to follow Jesus as a global communion, maintaining the unity of the Spirit,” says Henk Stenvers.
We remain ready to speak with MWC members who have questions, concerns or a desire for deeper conversation. Please direct questions to info@mwc-cmm.org