Methodology Notes
- After 2002, there are a number of churches for which data is not available.
- For any given year, only churches reporting end-of-year membership in that year and the previous year are counted as either a growing or non-growing church.
- A new church planting or newly formed congregation is not counted among growing churches in its first year of existence.
- Churches that report no change in membership are included as non-growing.
- Churches that are disbanded, merge with another church, or disassociate themselves from the other churches are counted, in that year, as non-growing.
Also In This Series:
Growing to Non-Growing Church Ratio, 1998-2007
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Growing vs. Non-Growing Churches, 1998-2007
The ratio of growing to non-growing congregations in our family of churches declined steadily from 1994 to 2004. This finding is consistent with the rate of change in overall membership, which saw a decade-long decline beginning at about the same time. Taken together, these two charts indicate that, while post-2002 membership losses were unprecedented, the trend leading up to these losses had been in place at least since 1994.
A modest reversal of this trend is apparent beginning in 2005, the first year since 1998 that more churches reported growing than did in the previous year. There was a slight increase in churches reporting growth in 2006, and a substantial increase in 2007.
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