New York, March 5, 2007 – The National Council of Churches’ Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches issued its 75th edition this month. Widely considered the nation’s oldest and most reliable source of church membership and growth trends, the 2007 edition reports on a record number of 224 national church bodies. The reports include brief histories, leadership and headquarters information, and ranks the 25 largest churches by membership.
You can read the full article here, but below are the stats you would most be interested in:
1. The Catholic Church, 69,135,254 members, reporting an increase of 1.94 percent.
2. The Southern Baptist Convention, 16,270,315 members, reporting a increase of .02 percent.
3. The United Methodist Church, 8,075,010 members, reporting a decrease of 1.36 percent.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5,690,672 members, reporting an increase of 1.63 percent.
5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no increase or decrease reported.
6. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., 5,000,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,850,776, reporting a decrease of 1.62 percent.
8. National Baptist Convention of America, 3,500,000, no increase or decrease reported.
9. Presbyterian Church (USA), 3,098,842 members, reporting a decrease of 2.84 percent.
10. Assemblies of God, 2,830,861 members, reporting an increase of 1.86 percent.
11. African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
12. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
13. Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., 2,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
14. The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), 2,440,864, reporting a decrease or .93 percent.
15. Episcopal Church, 2,247,819, reporting a decrease of 1.59 percent.
16. Churches of Christ, 1,639,495 members, reporting an increase of 9.30 percent (This increase reports the church’s growth since its last reported figures in 1999.)
17. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
18. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc., 1,500,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
19. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 1,440,405 members, reporting an increase of .53 percent.
20. American Baptist Churches in the USA, 1,396,700, reporting a decrease of 1.97 percent.
21. United Church of Christ, 1,224,297, reporting a decrease of 3.28 percent.
22. Baptist Bible Fellowship International, 1,200,000, no increase or decrease reported.
23. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 1,071,615 members, no increase or decrease reported.
24. The Orthodox Church in America, 1,064,000 members, no increase or decrease reported.
25. Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1,046,006 members, reporting an increase of 1.56 percent.
The total members reported in the largest 25 communions is 149,222,807, an overall increase of .82 percent.
I have never, and will never consider the Jehovah Witnesses and the LDS church to be denominations of the Christian Church.
which one has the snake handlers? i wonder if their roll is up or down.
I agree w/ littlepastor!
The LDS church shouldn’t be considered a denomination of the Christian Church? Did you read the name of the Church? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? The central doctrine of the church is Christ. Maybe look into it before spouting off like that.
In the LDS church is Christ accepted as the only begotten Son of God? Is acceptance of His love for us through His death, burial and ressurection the only means of salvation from our sins and assurance of being w/ Him in heaven? If this is central to the LDS church, I stand corrected.
You Go, MIL to SILGeeding.
MToots…you are correct. Amazing what you learn about a faith if you actually look into it before just slamming it. Proof? See below:
From Mormon.org:
Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said:
“We are Christians in a very real sense and that is coming to be more and more widely recognized. Once upon a time people everywhere said we are not Christians. They have come to recognize that we are, and that we have a very vital and dynamic religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
“We, of course, accept Jesus Christ as our Leader, our King, our Savior…the dominant figure in the history of the world, the only perfect Man who ever walked the earth, the living Son of the living God. He is our Savior and our Redeemer through whose atoning sacrifice has come the opportunity of eternal life.”
“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pray and worship in the name of Jesus Christ. He is the center of our faith and the head of our Church. The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ and witnesses of His divinity, His life, and His Atonement.”