| Methodist numbers drop below 8 million |
|
|
| By Robert Dilday | |
| Thursday, June 29, 2006 | |
|
(RNS) -- A United Methodist Church report says church membership dipped to a new low last year, dropping to under 8 million in the United States for the first time in nearly 80 years.
The church's General Council on Finance and Administration estimated U.S. membership at 7.98 million members in 2005. The church's global membership is estimated at about 9.86 million. Membership among the Methodists -- like most mainline Protestant churches -- has been dropping slowly but steadily since the formation of the denomination in 1968. In addition to fewer members, church attendance dropped 1.63 percent from 2004 to 2005, to about 3.34 million each week, according to United Methodist News Service. The trend of declining membership, however, is exclusive to the United States; regions of the church in Africa, Asia and Europe have increased membership more than 68 percent between 1995 and 2004. At a convocation next year, bishops and other ministers plan “to focus on how we can make disciples of Jesus Christ and improve our efforts at strengthening local congregations,” said Bishop Scott Jones of Wichita, Kan. That plan includes new congregations in the United States and outreach to Hispanics and immigrant groups.                 Comments (0)
 Readers alone are responsible for the content of the comments they post here. The comments are subject to the site’s terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the Religious Herald. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.
Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Nation
- Delegation, collaboration and prayer are key to managing disasters, say Baptist relief managers
- ANALYSIS: Will the Kermit Gosnell verdict change the abortion debate?
- What now for West, Texas? The challenge comes when public attention goes away
- Religious liberty is Baptists’ ‘gift to the nation,’ says new director of faith-based office
- U.S. House funds disaster aid for churches
| |