Membership slips for 2nd straight year

Worship attendance
average goes down
for 3rd year in row

For the second straight year, the Southwest Texas Conference registered a net membership loss during 2004.
A preliminary membership report issued Feb. 4 counted 195 fewer United Methodists on the conference rolls Dec. 31 than at the end of 2003. That’s a 0.16 percent decrease.
Average weekly worship attendance went down for the third year in a row during 2004—from 50,962 to 49,949. That’s a 2 percent decline.
The Rev. David A. Seilheimer, conference statistician, is to report official membership and worship-attendance figures to the June 1-4 annual conference session in Corpus Christi.
The Rev. Harry G. Kahl, congregational growth director, said he expected the current conference focus on “Offering Christ to All” to reverse the membership and worship-attendance slide eventually. But the return to net gains could take several years.
“Conference attendance and worship figures reflect a process that started several years ago,” Kahl said. “During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a big emphasis on congregational development. That took a while to manifest itself. But from 1993 to 2003, we had 11 straight years of membership growth.”
The conference reached an all-time membership high in 2002. The count was 120,915. Average weekly worship attendance climbed steadily between 1993 and 2001—from 44,972 to 52,344.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez’s initiative on new church development should lead to greater worship attendance and membership in the future, Kahl said.
Four of seven districts—Austin, Kerrville, McAllen and San Angelo—showed net membership gains in the 2004 preliminary report. Only the Kerrville District registered a net gain in average weekly worship attendance.
Of the 348 congregations listed in the preliminary report, 141—or 40.5 percent—recorded net membership increases during 2004. Another 145—or 41.7 percent—averaged more people in worship last year.
University UMC, San Antonio, posted the biggest net membership gain during 2004—224. Its membership climbed to 5,349, largest in the Southwest Texas Conference. The San Antonio congregation also had the highest average weekly worship attendance at 2,456. That was down 79 from 2003.
First UMC, Marble Falls, experienced the largest increase in average weekly worship attendance last year—up 112 to 590.


Stevens Chapel UMC, Halletsville, doubled its average worship attendance last year from 10 to 20.
Other congregations reporting net membership gains of more than 50 during 2004 were Alamo Heights UMC, San Antonio (139); First UMC, Boerne (115); Dripping Springs UMC (80); Bulverde UMC (78); Epworth UMC, San Antonio (76); First UMC, Kerrville (73); First UMC, Marble Falls (63); Northwest Hills UMC, San Antonio (63); First UMC, Pflugerville (61); Bethany UMC, Austin (57); Cedar Creek UMC (54); First UMC, Lampasas (54); and First UMC, McAllen (54).
Besides Marble Falls, congregations showing increases of more than 50 in average worship attendance during 2004 were St. Paul UMC, San Antonio (80); First UMC, Portland (54); and Canyon Lake UMC (51).
Along with University UMC, San Antonio, three congregations averaged more than 1,000 worshipers each week during 2004: Alamo Heights UMC, San Antonio (1,725—up 39); Bethany UMC, Austin (1,499—down 38); and Coker UMC, San Antonio (1,104—down 17).
The number of congregations with 1,000 or more members fell from 30 to 28 during 2004. Bulverde UMC joined the list. St. John’s UMC, Austin; Grace UMC, Corpus Christi; and Lake Travis UMC, Lakeway, dropped off.