{"id":2691222,"date":"2026-10-25T08:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/united-methodist-church-sees-considerable-membership-drop-in-u-s-report\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T08:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:40:02","slug":"united-methodist-church-sees-considerable-membership-drop-in-u-s-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/united-methodist-church-sees-considerable-membership-drop-in-u-s-report\/","title":{"rendered":"United Methodist Church Sees Considerable Membership Drop in U.S.: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Funited-methodist-church-sees-considerable-membership-drop-in-u-s-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2691222&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>There are a few more empty spaces in United Methodist Church pews than there used to be, according to a new report.<\/p>\n<p>A report from its General Council on Finance and Administration said membership fell by more than 170,000 in 2025, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/umc-in-us-sees-over-170000-drop-in-membership-from-in-2025.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Christian Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The denomination had about 3.814 million U.S. members in 2025, but it had 3.988 million U.S. members in 2024, a decline of 4.36 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in-person attendance dropped from about 1.074 million in 2024 to approximately 1.041 million in 2025, while online attendance fell from 1.037 million to about 986,000.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The UMC lost approximately 174,000 members in the United States in 2025, another staggering decline for a denomination already rocked by theological division, with thousands of churches departing. https:\/\/t.co\/wKySViGsMI<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charisma News (@charisma_news) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/charisma_news\/status\/2113283075878551717?\">October 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/umanalytics.gcfa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data<\/a> showed the average in-person attendance at UMC services was just about 52 people, while the average online attendance was just under 49 people.<\/p>\n<p>Of the UMC\u2019s 20,158 churches, over half were classified as small or very small.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no one single reason for the decline,\u201d a representative of the General Council on Finance and Administration said, according to The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople also profess their faith and come into the denomination for various reasons, so the membership number is a blend of those that departed and new members,\u201d the representative said, noting that corrections from previous reports and even deaths are part of the data picture.<\/p>\n<p>The UMC\u2019s embrace of the LGBT movement has been part of the denomination\u2019s story. From 2019 to 2023, more than 7,600 churches left the UMC, most of which were theologically conservative.<\/p>\n<p>According to another recent report from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/court-to-side-with-70-south-carolina-churches-seeking-to-leave-the-umc.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Christian Post<\/a>, about 70 congregations in South Carolina are seeking to leave and take their property with them.<\/p>\n<p>The Highland Park Methodist Church in Dallas is expected to sever ties with the UMC, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfaa.com\/article\/life\/faith\/highland-park-umc-leaders-vote-leave-united-methodist-church\/287-82a3abb1-fc72-41a5-93c7-fc936c8575ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WFAA-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Highland Park United Methodist Church leaders have unanimously called for a congregational vote on October 25\u201326 to completely sever ties with the UMC while remaining Wesleyan. #ChristianPost #UMC #TexasMegachurch #Methodist https:\/\/t.co\/MzY1xBaDub<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChristianPost\/status\/2112212179218821423?\">October 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In May, <a href=\"https:\/\/research.lifeway.com\/2026\/05\/01\/church-attendance-increases-for-the-first-time-in-decades\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lifeway Research<\/a> noted that based on a survey of more than 7,000 congregations, the UMC is not alone in seeing declining attendance.<\/p>\n<p>It reported that 46 percent of churches said their attendance dropped by at least 5 percent from 2020 to 2025, with 27 percent seeing attendance fall by 25 percent or more.<\/p>\n<p>The report noted that the picture is not uniform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvangelical Protestant churches grew 2% over the past five years. Catholic, Orthodox, and non-Christian congregations were largely stable. Mainline Protestant churches, however, declined by 20%,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form method=\"post\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); window.WJFormsSecure ? 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A report from its General Council on Finance and Administration said membership fell by more than 170,000 in 2025, according to The Christian Post. The denomination had about 3.814 million U.S. members in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2691223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-10-23T231348.101.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-10-23T231348.101.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2691222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2691223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2691222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2691222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2691222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}