The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday denied a request by the United Methodist Church to dismiss a lawsuit by a Dothan megachurch that claims it owes the denomination no money to leave.

The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church had asked a Houston County court to dismiss the case, saying it was a church matter and shouldn’t be decided by the courts.

The Houston County court refused to dismiss the case, so the denomination appealed to the state Supreme Court asking for a dismissal.

On Feb. 7, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Harvest Church’s claim to own its own property. Friday’s decision by the court refusing dismissal will send it back to the lower court for a hearing.

When Harvest Church voted to leave the denomination in November 2022, it didn’t think it owed the denomination any money, founding Pastor Ralph Sigler told AL.com.

Some churches its size that decided to leave were paying settlements as high as $4 million to leave, he said. Most of the more than 1,600 people who attend the church weekly weren’t even aware of the United Methodist affiliation, the pastor said.

When Harvest Church in Dothan was founded by Sigler in 1996, he aligned it with the United Methodist Church.

When the growing congregation bought a 10-acre campus and built a 1,200-seat worship center, church leadership did not include a “trust clause” that that made the United Methodist Alabama-West Florida Conference an owner of the property.

The church is now independent.

Founding Pastor Ralph Sigler said he has always considered it part of the Methodist Holiness movement, emphasizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It always has been on the conservative end of Methodist theology, he said.

But the Alabama-West Florida Conference would not let the church leave without paying and going through procedures that other disaffiliating churches were required to follow.

Sigler said Harvest Church leaders believe the United Methodist Church has failed to enforce its Book of Discipline bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of openly gay clergy since the 2016 election of the first openly lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto.

“We are saddened by this litigation, but we are confident the process we have adhered to is fair and just,” the conference said in a statement about its other lawsuit before the state Supreme Court involving a group of 45 churches that filed a lawsuit against the conference asking to leave.

Those churches said Bishop David Graves had delayed the disaffiliation process trying to “run out the clock” to keep them from leaving. Those churches lost at the circuit court level when a judge ruled it was an internal church matter, but appealed to the state Supreme Court and are hoping for a hearing.

The United Methodist Church on Dec. 31, 2023, concluded its disaffiliation process that allowed 348 churches to leave the North Alabama Conference and 248 churches to leave the Alabama-West Florida Conference.

Nationwide, over the past four years, 7,600 congregations left the denomination– 5,600 in 2023. That’s about a fourth of all United Methodist churches. They left under 2019 guidelines that made it possible for churches to negotiate to leave and take their property with them until the end of 2023.

In Alabama, more than half of United Methodist congregations disaffiliated – about 555 churches. Most of those departures have taken place since 2022.

See also: United Methodist disaffiliation deadline passes: retired Alabama bishop calls split ‘traumatic’

United Methodist split: changing signs reflect upheaval

United Methodist split: 45 churches who sued bishop to disaffiliate file appeal to state Supreme Court

United Methodist split: 8 more churches disaffiliate, including 1 of Mobile’s largest

United Methodists urge repeal of ban on same-sex marriage, openly gay clergy

United Methodists ask for loyalty from leaders, tighten rules on disaffiliation and downsize