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A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

1:00 P.M. EST June 29, 2010

The choir sings during worship in this April 2010 photograph at Jerusalem United Methodist Church in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.
A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery

The 2010 State of the Church Report tells United Methodists something they are already painfully aware of — U.S. membership is continuing its long decline even as the denomination expands internationally.

But Ohio East Area Bishop John Hopkins is hoping that soon such reports also will offer more advice on how to grow members and otherwise “rethink” the church.

While various denominational groups produce annual reports and conduct research studies, “nobody looks at the whole,” explained Hopkins, chairperson of the Connectional Table, a 60-member international body that helps coordinate the mission, ministries and resources of The United Methodist Church.

That body commissioned the first State of the Church report in 2007, which provided a comprehensive overview of the life of the church and a baseline from which to work. Keeping the annual report online allows the Connectional Table to add information between reports.

Rather than offering conclusions, “the information is basically a way to try to engage people across the church, at every level, in rethinking how we do church,” Hopkins explained. “This is a way to say there’s a lot going on out there, but here’s how it looks from the whole.”

In the decade between 1998 and 2008, for example, overall United Methodist membership grew by 14 percent for those who come into membership by profession of faith and 27 percent for baptized members. At the end of 2008, the church had approximately 11 million professing members and an additional 2.5 million baptized members in Africa, Europe, the United States and the Philippines.

But U.S.membership has declined every year since The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 and dropped by nearly 590,000 between 1998 and 2008.

Bucking the trend

Not all U.S. congregations are in decline. In 2007-2008, 34.7 percent of local churches reported membership growth, with an average increase of 3.3 percent over 2006-2007.

“Churches with larger memberships tended to grow, while smaller-membership churches tended to shrink,” the report said. “The average growing church reported 325 members in 2008; the average shrinking church reported 182 members.”

Interpreting such data can be complicated, Hopkins said, pointing out that small churches can be vital congregations, too. The real question may be what factors lead toward a vital church — an issue being explored in the United Methodist Council of Bishops’ “Call to Action” report, which is to be released this fall.

When you walk into a church that‘s vital — whether it has 15 or 1,500 members — “you know it,” he noted. “There’s an energy. You feel that God’s here.”

The average church member in recently-surveyed U.S. congregations is an older U.S.-born, educated member of the middle class, the 2010 report said.

According to the U.S. Congregational Life Survey compiled by the General Council on Finance and Administration, more than 96 percent of United Methodists said they were born in the United States, compared to 88 percent of the general population. On a similar scale, more than 92 percent of U.S. United Methodists have earned at least a high school diploma, compared to 87 percent of the general population.

Just over half of United Methodists are in their first marriage and 51 percent reported a household income of $50,000 or more. The median age of those attending a local United Methodist Church is 57, compared to the median age of 35 for the U.S. population.

Survey respondents expressed a commitment to the church, with nearly half confirming “a strong sense of belonging” to their current congregation. Financially, that commitment translates into 32 percent of congregants giving 5 percent to 9 percent of their net income regularly and 23 percent giving 10 percent or more of their net income regularly.

Rapid response

Using data from the “Call to Action” and other studies “will lead to more rapid response to the (membership) decline,” Hopkins predicted.

Trying to reach a younger population, for instance, may mean focusing more on spirituality than the institution. “They’re interested in having a relationship with God and knowing more about Jesus and trying to have a more meaningful life,” the bishop said.

The 2010 State of the Church Report claimed some initial successes in denominational revitalization through the denomination’s new emphasis on the “Four Areas of Focus,” which address leadership development, congregational revitalization, ministry with the poor and global health.

Bishop John L. Hopkins
View in Photo Gallery

Examples of achievement include:

• Innovative leadership in one Florida church that has tripled the size of its membership by adding new outreach ministries.
• The start up of 177 new congregations worldwide.
• The distribution of 30,000 bed nets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and contributions of $150,000 to a faith-based initiative there to fight malaria.

“My personal hope is we can take the learnings from local initiatives trying to reach people…and focus on those things we find produce results,” Hopkins said.

Repentance, confession and a willingness to change “if God wants us to change” also are key to growth, he added.

The 2010 State of the Church Report is now available online at www.umc.org/sotc2010 and in the July/August edition of the Interpreter magazine published by United Methodist Communications. The report is available in English, French and Portuguese.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.