wfn.org | Worldwide Increase Puts LWF Membership at 66 Million

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Worldwide Increase Puts LWF Membership at 66 Million
Over One Million New Members in Africa, Dutch Churches' Merger Adds 2.6
Million to LWF Europe 

GENEVA, 14 February 2005 (LWI) - An overall increase of 3.63 million
Christians among member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
worldwide over a one-year period puts the total membership in the LWF to
65,927,334 in 2004. This is according to the latest statistical data
from the LWF. 

The 138 LWF member churches, the eleven recognized congregations and
one recognized council in 77 countries recorded an increase of more than
5.8 percent. In 2003, LWF member churches around the world had 62.3
million members, compared to 61.7 million in 2001.

Last year, the number of LWF member churches increased from 136 to 138.
This figure includes 135 churches with full membership in the LWF and
three associate member churches.

The latest increase is largely due to overall growth in a number of the
African churches, which recorded an increase of a total 1.1 million
members; as well as last year's admission of the recently established
Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN). A merger of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (ELCNL), the
Netherlands Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in the
Netherlands, the 2.53-million member PCN is also a member of the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches. Prior to the May 2004 merger, the former
ELCNL, now the PCN Lutheran Synod, had been a member of the LWF since
1947. 

Worldwide membership among Lutheran churches increased by 3.57 million
to 69,527,817, representing a growth of 5.4 percent. In 2003, Lutheran
churches worldwide had 65.96 million people, whereas in 2001, the figure
stood at 65.39 million. Membership in Lutheran churches that do not
belong to the LWF decreased by around 60,177 to 3,600,483.

Africa: Further Increase of Nearly 1.1 Million

Lutheran churches in Africa once again recorded a membership increase
of almost 1.1 million which accounts for a rise of 8.2 percent, pushing
the total in that region to 14,133,572 members. The LWF member churches
there had 14,079,022 members in 2004, an increase of 8.4 percent. 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique registered the largest
increase, with an almost fivefold rise in membership from 1,250 to
5,987. With 500,000 new members, representing a 20 percent increase, the
Malagasy Lutheran Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania now
each have 3 million members. 

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, currently the largest
Lutheran church in Africa with 4,164,066 members, recorded 130,653 new
members, an increase of 3.25 percent. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Zimbabwe now with 130,000 had 20,000 new members, an 18 percent
increase. The Lutheran Church of Rwanda obtained 3,000 new members, an
18 percent increase, bringing the total to 20,000 members.

The Lutheran Church of Nigeria reported 15,000 new members, an increase
of 12.5 percent bringing the total to 135,000. The fourth largest church
in Africa, the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria recorded an increase
of 3.25 percent with 37,977 additional members, pushing the total to
1,205,000. In predominantly Muslim Senegal, membership in the Lutheran
Church of Senegal rose by four percent to reach 3,620 members.

Several churches in South Africa recorded decreasing membership.
Indeed, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa lost almost
180,000 members, a 23.4 percent decline, bringing the new total to
589,502. A slight decrease in membership in the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church) brings down the total to 4,099
members, whereas the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa
(N-T) recorded a 10 percent decrease resulting in 9,900 members. The
membership of the Moravian Church in South Africa remained unchanged at
100,200.

LWF Membership in Europe Up by 2.6 million 

Between 2003 and 2004, membership in Lutheran churches in Europe
increased by 7.3 percent representing 2,633,955 new members, and pushing
the total in the region to 38,635,572. Membership among LWF member
churches rose to 38,594,553 Christians. This is largely due to the PCN
admission in the LWF last year. Between 2001 and 2003, a 1.75 percent
decrease pushed down Lutheran membership to 36 million Christians. 

Church of Sweden, the largest Lutheran church worldwide, recorded a one
percent increase over the one-year period putting the total membership
at 7,220,694. Membership in the third largest LWF member church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, fell by 0.3 percent to 4,586,414
members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, the fourth largest
LWF member church, recorded 4,499,501 members, which corresponds to a
0.6 percent decline. The Church of Norway reported 3,922,265 members, a
3.4 percent increase. Membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church
of Norway, an associate member church of the LWF, rose by around five
percent to 22,815 members.

The Lutheran Council of Great Britain, representing the common work of
eleven different Lutheran churches with congregations or chaplaincies
there, recorded a nine percent increase in membership, pushing the total
to 130,600. The Lutheran Church in Great Britain had 13.5 percent fewer
members, recording a total of 2,370.

Membership in the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in
Austria decreased by 3.7 percent to 322,321 members, whereas that of the
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania fell by around
three percent, to 14,606 members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Romania now has 31,250 members, a decrease of 2.4 percent.

Slight Decrease among Lutheran Churches in Germany 

The total number of Lutheran Christians in Germany stood at 13,103,946
in 2004, which was 159,923 fewer members than the previous year,
representing a 1.2 percent decrease. Germany is still the country with
the highest number of Lutheran Christians. In 2003, the churches there
recorded a combined membership of 13,263,869 compared to 13.65 million
members in 2001. The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Germany, not an
LWF member church, recorded the highest decline in percentage terms with
26 percent less members, reducing the total to 1,470. The Church of
Lippe [Lutheran Section] recorded a 14 percent decrease with a
substantially lower total of 32,600 members.

Membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, the largest
church in the country, remained unchanged at 3,127,000 members. The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria recorded 2.7 million members,
representing a two percent decrease. The North Elbian Evangelical
Lutheran Church had around 2.8 percent fewer members, reducing the total
to 2,151,450. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony had 2.3 percent
less members with a total of 895,000, whereas the Evangelical Church of
Pomerania had 115,000 members, a six percent decrease. Among other
churches that recorded a decline was the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Brunswick, with 417,576 members, a decrease of 2.2 percent. 

Membership remained unchanged in several other German churches
including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden with 3,710 members,
Evangelical Church in Wuerttemberg with 2,346,879 members and
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg with 225,000 members. 

Significant Growth among Some Asian Churches 

The number of Lutherans in Asia increased by just under one percent
bringing the total to 7,391,102. Out of this figure, the LWF member
churches account for 7,229,661. 

The West Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, a non-LWF member church,
doubled its membership to 3,700. Membership in the Lutheran Church in
Korea rose by 82 percent to a new total of 4,698 members. A 50 percent
increase in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand has resulted in
a new figure of 2,584 members.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh (India) increased
membership by around 13.5 percent to reach 15,880 members, whereas that
of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (India) rose by 12,003 members,
around 11 percent, to a new total of 120,000.

The Basel Christian Church of Malaysia recorded an increase of around
11 percent, pushing the total to 50,000. The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Myanmar (Lutheran Bethlehem Church) had an increase of 11 percent,
with a new total of 1,800 members.

The Chinese Lutheran Brethren Church in Taiwan (Republic of China),
recorded 1,668 members, a decrease of 44 percent. The Lutheran Church of
New Zealand had 22 percent fewer members, with a new total of 962.

Slight Decrease in Latin America

Lutheran churches in Latin America and the Caribbean recorded a slight
fall in membership, around one percent, bringing in a new total of
1,116,913. This includes 842,096 represented in the LWF member churches.
The LWF member churches had 5,069 fewer members, representing a 0.6
percent decrease.

Membership in the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in
Brazil decreased by around 0.7 percent to 710,000. The non-LWF member
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, recorded an increase of around
0.5 percent, bringing the total membership to 223,588.

Membership Decline in North America

In North America, membership in Lutheran churches between 2003 and 2004
fell by around 2.2 percent. Out of the total 8,250,658 Lutherans in the
region 5,182,002 belong to the four LWF member churches there. 

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the second largest LWF
member church recorded 4,984,925 members, a 2.25 percent decrease. A 40
percent decline in membership in the  Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Diaspora (USA) pushed down the membership to 3,000.

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (USA and Canada), which is not a
member of the LWF, had 2,488,936 members, down by two percent. The
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (USA), also a non-LWF member church
recorded a 3.2 percent decrease to reach a total of 400,622 members. The
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (USA), also outside the LWF,
registered an eight percent increase for a new total of 39,319 members.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada had a new total of 182,077
members, a decline of around 3.5 percent. Membership in the Estonian
Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (Canada) remained steady at 12,000
members.

The membership statistics are based on information received from the
LWF member churches, the recognized congregations and council, as well
as from other Lutheran churches, organizations, mission bodies and
congregations. The figures recorded for the year ending 2003 were used
for churches that did not indicate any change in statistics by the end
of January 2005. (1,645 words)

The statistics in detail will be printed in Lutheran World Information
(LWI) No. 01/2005. 

A one-page summary of the LWF Statistics 2004 is posted in PDF format
on the LWF Web site under: 
www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF-Statistics-01-2004.pdf 

Full details can be found under:
www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF-Statistics-2004.pdf 

For further information, please contact the LWF Office for
Communication Services in Geneva.

Tel.: +41/22-791 63 54
Fax: +41/22-791 66 30
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org 

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the
dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be
freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

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Editor: pmu@lutheranworld.org