Methodist giving dropped as membership declined: But number of churchgoers up
U.S. membership in the United Methodist Church fell to 7.77 million in 2008—its biggest one-year percentage drop (1.01 percent) since 1974.
Giving was down as well in that first year of the recession as the largest mainline denomination received only 89 percent, or $126.3 million, of what was budgeted for domestic and foreign missions. Average worship attendance was down 1.83 percent for that year, officials told the United Methodist News Service.