Southern Methodist Church

{{Infobox Christian denomination

|name = Southern Methodist Church

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|main_classification = Methodist

|orientation = Holiness movement

|theology = Wesleyan

|founder =

|founded_date = 1940

|founded_place =

|separated_from = Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1940)

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|congregations = 73

|members = 3,200

|website = {{URL|https://thesmc.org}}

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The Southern Methodist Church is a Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

The church was formed in 1940 by conservative members of the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which in 1939 had reunited with the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the Methodist Church.

In 2017, the Southern Methodist Church had approximately 85 churches and 3,200 members.{{cite web|url = http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1471.asp| title = 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches|publisher = The National Council of Churches|accessdate = 2009-12-08}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesmc.org/article02.html|title=Locations}} Over 50% of the churches (47) are located in South Carolina.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesmc.org/page8.html|title = Eastern Churches}} The denomination describes itself as seeking "to continue the doctrinal heritage of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and to spread the message of salvation and Biblical holiness that John Wesley preached."[http://www.thesmc.org/aboutus.html Southern Methodist Church: About us]

The denomination maintains Southern Methodist College, a four-year Bible college with a Christian liberal arts and ministerial program, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, near the church's headquarters.{{cite book |title=Peterson's Colleges in the South |date=2009 |publisher=Peterson's |isbn=978-0-7689-2695-8 |page=159 |language=en}} The denomination also supports foreign missionaries. The Woman's Missionary Society (WMS), the Epworth League children and youth program, and the Cartwright Men's Fellowship serve as specialized ministry and training efforts within the local churches and on the district and conference levels.