Lutheran church membership declining

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Membership and total giving in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod declined in 2002, based on statistics from its congregations. The denomination announced that the total baptized membership reported for 2002 is 2,512,714, which is 27,331 fewer than for 2001. That decline is almost twice as much as the decline reported for 2001. The total for confirmed membership reported for 2002 is 1,907,923, or 13,026 fewer than reported for 2001. There was a similar decline reported for 2001. Members contributed $1.2 billion to their congregations in 2002, a decline of $13.8 million from the figure reported the previous year. Giving dropped about $12.1 million from 2000 to 2001. Congregations retained about $1.1 billion in 2002 for their own use, a decline of $6.2 million from the previous year. They sent $117.1 million to outside causes, including the denomination’s districts, which in turn send money to the national headquarters.

In 2001, the congregations sent $124.7 million to outside causes. The statistics, compiled by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s office of rosters and statistics, are based on reports from 84 percent of the denomination’s congregations. In 2001, 69 percent of the congregations made reports.