The latest ELCA membership figures show decreases of 76,573 baptized members and 79 congregations since 2005. The ELCA had 4,774,203 baptized members in 10,470 congregations at the end of 2006, said Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary.
The secretary’s comparison of congregational statistics for 2005 and 2006 noted that confirmed membership in the ELCA declined in 2006 by 56,546 to 3,580,402.
The ELCA
has lost approximately 466,000 baptized members from the 5,240,739
reported in 1990. More than two-thirds of the decline occurred between
2002 and 2006, with a combined decrease of 325,674 baptized members,
according to annual reports from congregations.
The rest of this article is only available to subscribers.
© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
