While membership for more than a third of the country's largest denominations declined last year, at least two Pentecostal denominations increased in members, according to a nationwide study released on Monday.
Membership in the Assemblies of God was up .52 percent, to 2.9 million members, and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) was up .38 percent, to 1.1 million members, the National Council of Churches' 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches reported.
"Strong figures from the Assemblies of God and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) suggest an increase in the number of adherents to Pentecostal groups, though it is impossible to state unequivocally from this table since the other two charismatic churches in the ranking have not reported in some years," said Yearbook editor, the Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner.
The nation's second largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, declined by .42 percent to 16 million members. Denominations with the biggest losses included United Church of Christ, down 2.83 percent to 1.1 million; the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 2.61 percent to 2.8 million; and the Episcopal Church, down 2.48 percent to 2 million members.
Total church membership declined by 1.05 percent over 2010 to 146 million members. Despite the declines, the report stated the statistics reflect overall church participation that is "continued high."
—Source: The Christian Post
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