Assemblies of God opens more than 1 church a day

SPRINGFIELD, Miss. — The Assemblies of God, one of the nation’s largest Pentecostal denominations, opened more than a church a day last year.  In all, 368 new churches opened in 2011, the denomination said. That total marks the second highest number of church starts since it began keeping reliable statistics in 1965.

Factoring in church closures, there are now 12,595 Assemblies of God congregations in the country, the highest ever recorded. Denominational officials reported that 230 churches closed in 2011. Wood said there were only two years in the last decade when the denomination saw fewer than 230 church closures. The denomination, which includes 3 million U.S. members, has a “Church Multiplication Network” that supports church planters with training and funding.