The Communion of the Lutheran World Federation Is Growing
LWF member churches are growing, according to statistics compiled by the LWF Office for the Communion. According to the data, the 142 LWF member churches, 10 recognized congregations and 2 recognized councils together had 72,268,329 members in February 2014, a 2.1% increase compared to February 2011, when statistics were last compiled.
The total number of member churches is now 142 (140 member and 2 associate churches) due to mergers in Germany and Estonia. The membership of LWF churches is growing thanks to the Africa and Asia regions.
In Africa, the reports show an increase of 3%, or 600,000 people. In Asia, according to the statistics, there has been a growth of 1.7 million Lutherans in LWF member churches since 2011. Member churches in the Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America regions continue to experience a slow decline in membership, most notably in North America (7.8%) and Europe (1.6%), while in the Latin America and the Caribbean region membership has fallen by 0.3%, which amounts to about 2,300 people in total.
Some of the more visible changes in membership figures can be attributed to church mergers and to differing ways in which the figures are compiled.
The Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, which in 2011 reported a 212% increase, has carried out a much more accurate update of its data than in previous years, including data not only for the last two years.
Following the new data protection law, the statistics show a decline of nearly half in some regions of Switzerland. It is assumed that not the full number of LWF members was reported and that the true number of Swiss Lutherans could be twice as high as reported.
The membership figures reported in the statistical data from Rwanda also show a decline of nearly 90%. This is connected with the genocide of 1994, when the Lutheran Church of Rwanda set up church tents for people displaced by the conflict.
The worshippers who registered came from all Christian denominations. “Many churches were defiled because people had been killed in them,” explains LCR President Rev. Evariste Mugabo.
“But now they have begun to cleanse the buildings, and people are returning to their original churches.” In 2013 the LCR carried out a new survey that showed a lower membership, but the new data also indicate that the country is healing.
Africa. 30 member churches in 23 countries have grown by about 600,000 members and now have a total of 20,752,232 members. The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), with 6.3 million members, is the second-largest LWF member church.
Among the other largest LWF member churches in Africa are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (5.8 million), the Malagasy Lutheran Church (3 million) and the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (2.2 million).
It is worth noting that the member churches in Sierra Leone and Zambia have nearly doubled their figures in the last few years, reporting 4,000 and 4,500 members respectively.
Asia. Asia’s 53 member churches in 18 countries reported 10.7 million members, 1.7 million more than in 2011 (a 19% increase). Most Asian countries have several Lutheran churches, reflecting the region’s diverse languages and cultures.
In India, 11 member churches reported an increase of 1.7 million members. The Lutheran Church of Myanmar has grown by 23.5%. Indonesia’s 12 Lutheran churches are strongly represented in the region with 5.8 million members.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, another large church, reports a stable 1.05 million members.
Europe. Nearly half of the LWF’s members worldwide live in Europe, where some structural changes have taken place since 2011.
In Germany in 2012, the Pomeranian Evangelical Church merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, with 2.26 million members.
The German member churches currently have a total of 12,202,382 members, a slight decrease of 2.7%. In neighboring France, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France merged with the United Protestant Church of France.
Although this merger did not change the number of member churches, it changed the number of LWF members in the country (400,000).
In the Nordic countries, the churches maintain a strong presence. The Church of Sweden, with 6.5 million members, is the largest LWF member church; Denmark has 4.43 million members; Finland 4.14 million and Norway 3.8 million. The total membership of the Nordic churches is more than half of Europe’s 35,853,001 Lutherans, 1.2% less than in 2011.
Latin America and the Caribbean. 26 member churches in 18 countries in this region have experienced a slight decline in membership. The churches belonging to the LWF have reported that there are now 2,321 fewer members.
The Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil continues to be the largest LWF church in the region, with 717,000 members. This region is also home to the smallest LWF member, the German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Bolivia, which has 150 members.
North America. Both LWF member churches in the USA and Canada have reported a slight drop in membership. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reported 3,950,924 members.
In Canada, membership has changed partly because the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad has merged with its mother church in Estonia. Canada now has 128,026 LWF members. The two countries currently have a total of 4.1 million members.
The figures cited reflect the information received at the end of February this year from LWF member churches, recognized churches, congregations and councils. Previous statistical data were used for those churches that did not report any changes. LWF membership statistics are published every two years.
P.S. Translator’s note – each LWF member helps 4 refugees. Together we can do a lot!
Photo: The Lutheran World Federation
Translated from English by LELBāL pastor Ieva Puriņa
Proofreader Mag. Theol. Milda Klampe