US Dips Below Majority of Membership

By Heather Hahn
Nov. 25, 2019 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News)

The U.S.’s majority status in The United Methodist Church is coming to an end — and may be there already.

That’s according to projections from the denomination’s General Council on Finance and Administration — based on the continuing decline in U.S. membership as much as growth in Africa.

According to the agency’s forecast, total membership in the central conferences — church regions in Africa, the Philippines and Europe — will exceed that of the U.S. jurisdictions in 2020.
  
“Based on trends that have occurred over the last several years, we are annually averaging a decline of 2.0% overall for the jurisdictional membership,” Kevin Dunn, the agency’s director of data services, told the GCFA board at its November meeting. Read more>