wfn.org | ELCA Membership Decreases in 1999

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 11, 2000

ELCA MEMBERSHIP DECREASES IN 1999
00-195-LA*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- With a total of 5,149,668 baptized members in
10,851 congregations, the membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) remained stable, although decreasing in 1999 about
half of one percent -- 0.55 percent.  That figure represented a decline
of 28,557 baptized members from 5,178,225 in 1998, according to the Rev.
Lowell G. Almen, secretary of the ELCA.
     "Most of this decrease," Almen said, "can be attributed to roll-cleaning -- 
the removal of inactive members from the rolls of congregations."  However, 
the decrease was greater than in any previous year since the ELCA's 
formation in 1988.
     Losses of baptized members attributable to roll cleaning by
congregations were up from 172,561 in 1998 to 187,543 in 1999.  The
number of losses due to deaths was up slightly for 1999 -- 51,521
compared to 50,383 in 1998.
     At the same time, some increases were noted in the reception of
members from other Lutheran congregations -- up 921 to 17,954 -- and
from non-Lutheran congregations -- up 666 to 21,400.
     Twenty-four congregations with a combined membership of 2,321
disbanded in 1999 and five with a combined membership of 2,611 withdrew
from the ELCA.  One of those was a 2,080-member congregation that had
been a part of both the ELCA and The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
(LCMS). That congregation, St. James Lutheran Church in St. James, N.Y.,
decided to remain a part of the LCMS and end its dual-roster
relationship.
     The average number of individuals at worship on Sundays, which is
an indicator of participation by members in the life of congregations,
remained level in 1999.  About 1,567,755 or 30.44 percent of all
baptized members attend worship each week.  Over the past 10 years,
average worship attendance has fluctuated slightly between 30 and 31
percent.
     Confirmed membership in 1999 for ELCA congregations remained
steady at 3,825,228 -- down 14,908 from 1998.
     Communing and contributing membership, indicators of active
participation, declined for the fourth consecutive year to 2,457,252 in
1999 compared with 2,501,669 in 1998 -- a decrease of 44,417 or 1.8
percent, Almen reported.
     The number of ELCA congregations decreased by eleven -- from
10,862 in 1998 to 10,851 in 1999 -- largely as a result of the
disbanding of small congregations, said Almen.  This is 16 fewer than
the decrease in the number of congregations between 1997 and 1998.
     The slight but steady decline in the number of baptisms of
children over the past ten years continued in 1999.  From 1998 to 1999
the decrease was 619 -- down from 81,224 in 1998 to 80,605 in 1999.  The
decline in baptisms of children reflects the slowed birth rate in the
population in general, said Almen.  Congregations  also reported a
decrease in baptisms of adults 16 years and over -- down 52 people from
8,468 in 1998 to 8,416 in 1999.
     The number of unconfirmed children partaking of the sacrament of
Holy Communion continued to grow in 1999 to 280,265 -- up from 270,125
in 1998 -- an increase of 3.75 percent.  At the 1997 Churchwide Assembly
a new statement on sacramental practices was adopted which said baptized
adults and older children may commune while continuing instruction for
Holy Communion.  The age of a baptized member at First Communion may
vary among ELCA congregations.
     The number of youth confirmed in 1999 was practically the same as
the number confirmed in 1998.  The number of confirmations reported for
1999 was 59,000 -- down 129 youth from the number reported for 1998.
     The average number of baptized members per congregation decreased
in 1999 by one person to 479 members, and the average confirmed
membership remained in 1999 at 356.  In 1999, the average number for
communing and contributing members per congregation was 233.
     For 1999, 2.42 percent of ELCA baptized members were African
American, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, American
Indian or Alaska Native people.  For 1998, the percentage of the total
ELCA membership of people of color or whose primary language is not
English was 2.29.
     African American or Black membership increased to 50,834, up 199;
Asian and Pacific Islander membership, 22,569, up 102; Hispanic
membership, 35,314, up 3,019; and American Indian and Alaska Native
membership, 7,351, up 217.  Some 11,149  members declared their race or
ethnic heritage as "other."
-- -- --
     A table of membership figures since 1987, when the ELCA was
formed, is located at http://www.elca.org/co/news/table.html on the
World Wide Web.

[* The Rev. Lowell G. Almen is secretary of the ELCA.]

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html