Today's chapter focuses on membership losses that were reported in the 2010 statistics. I sliced them several different ways to see if anything interesting emerged. While I suspected that removal by charge conference might vary some between churches that reported gains in membership and those that reported losses, I was surprised at how great the difference was. Churches that showed a gain in membership reported that 13% of their membership losses were due to charge conference action while churches that showed a decrease in membership reported that 38% of their membership losses were due to charge conference action. When we look at churches that gained in worship attendance and declined in worship attendance, there are no significant differences in the percentages of how members were lost.
I think these statistics support those who believe change in worship attendance is a more important indicator than change in membership numbers. By just eyeballing the numbers, it appears that an increase in membership may be more likely to signal that the congregation is lax in keeping rolls clean rather than it being a sign of vitality.
I also took a look at the reported losses from 2007 to 2010. During that four year period there didn't appear to be dramatic changes in the percentages. It is interesting to note that the percentage of losses due to death has increased slightly over each of the four yeears. However, in terms of raw numbers we lost more people to death (104,145) in 2007 than we did in 2010 (99,594).
The percentage of people transferring to another denomination has stayed the same at 9% over the four year period. While I am sure that many of the "other denominations" don't bother to ask for any sort of transfer, these numbers would still indicate that our declining membership is not due to people leaving in droves for other denominations. (We report receiving about twice as many people from other denominations as we report transferring out to other denominations.)
I hope these numbers give you something to ponder. If you would like to see how your annual conference compares with the general church numbers, just drop me a note and I will pull them out for you.
The various percentages are listed below.
Of all reported membership losses in 2007:
28% were a result of death
33% were removed by charge conference action
15% withdrew
16% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
9% transferred to another denomination
Total Number: 375,535
Of all reported membership losses in 2008:
31% were a result of death
35% were removed by charge conference action
16% withdrew
9% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
9% transferred to another denomination
Total Number: 338,673
Of all reported membership losses in 2009:
31% were a result of death
30% were removed by charge conference action
15% withdrew
15% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
9% transferred to another denomination
Total Number: 323,850
Of all reported membership losses in 2010:
32% were a result of death
31% were removed by charge conference action
14% withdrew
15% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
9% transferred to another denomination
Total Number: 308,445
Of all reported membership losses in churches that reported an increase in membership:
43% were a result of death
13% were removed by charge conference action
11% withdrew
22% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
11% transferred to another denomination
Of all reported membership losses in churches that reported a decrease in membership:
28% were a result of death
38% were removed by charge conference action
15% withdrew
12% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
8% transferred to another denomination
Of all reported membership losses in churches that reported an increase in worship:
31% were a result of death
32% were removed by charge conference action
15% withdrew
15% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
8% transferred to another denomination
Of all reported membership losses in churches that reported a decrease in worship:
32% were a result of death
30% were removed by charge conference action
14% withdrew
15% transferred to another United Methodist congregation
9% transferred to another denomination
(Note: Some may not add up to 100% due to rounding. All statistics are based on congregations of at least five members.)
The statistical data included herein were provided at no charge by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church (GCFA) and may be obtained directly from GCFA, PO Box 340020, Nashville, TN 37203-0029. This data is proprietary and is owned by GCFA and may not be used in any commercial or exploitative way, to make a financial profit, or in a manner that defames the United Methodist denomination or its agencies or organizations. GCFA does not endorse any particular use of the data or accept responsibility for its interpretation or analysis by another.
The statistical data included herein were provided at no charge by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church (GCFA) and may be obtained directly from GCFA, PO Box 340020, Nashville, TN 37203-0029. This data is proprietary and is owned by GCFA and may not be used in any commercial or exploitative way, to make a financial profit, or in a manner that defames the United Methodist denomination or its agencies or organizations. GCFA does not endorse any particular use of the data or accept responsibility for its interpretation or analysis by another.
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