Died: John K. Yambasu, Methodist Bridge-Builder and African Leader

The Sierra Leone bishop convened a pivotal roundtable to resolve longstanding UMC divisions over LGBT issues.

John K. Yambasu, the West African bishop who brought factions of the United Methodist Church (UMC) together to agree on a plan for their split over homosexuality, died in a car accident outside Freeport, Sierra Leone, over the weekend.

The 63-year-old is remembered as a gentle diplomat in the church and a faithful advocate for Christian education in Africa.

Yambasu, the resident bishop of the Sierra Leone area and president of the United Methodist Africa College of bishops, “stood like a giant in the worldwide mission of the United Methodist Church,” said Bishop Hee Soo Jung, president of the denomination’s General Board of Global Ministries.

Yambasu organized the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace, a proposal announced in January 2020 and to be voted on in August 2021.

After several stalemates over what to do about the UMC’s decades of division over same-sex marriage and gay clergy, the protocol brought together key leaders from all sides and is expected to be the final chapter in this decades-long battle when the denomination’s legislative body convenes at its postponed conference next year.

Yambasu trusted God as determining the outcome of their prolonged denominational efforts.

“I strongly believe that we don’t own the church, it is God’s church, and God is just using us as instruments of his grace,” he said. “No matter what we do, no matter how much money we spend, no matter what conversations we do, in the final analysis it’s God’s church, and God will lead his church to where he wants his church to be.”

Methodist leaders on both sides of the anticipated split paid tribute to him after the news of his death on Sunday.

Jan Lawrence, executive director ...