The United Methodist Church hasn’t yet released its attendance and membership statistics for 2007, but preliminary data suggests that both numbers will be down.

The nation’s second largest Protestant denomination posts highlights from various annual conferences across the country including statistical data here.

I focused on the Southeastern Jurisdiction because it’s the one I’m most familiar with, and because the church is stronger here than in the rest of the country. Of 13 conferences reporting so far, all 13 report a drop in average Sunday attendance. A couple report higher membership, but the number of people in the pews is dropping in those conferences, too.

For 40 years, mainline denominations have been seeing steady declines in membership and attendance. My hunch is that the evangelical churches, which gained members between 1968 and 2008, are now poised for statistical setbacks, too.

Ultimately, those churches that make inroads among immigrant communities will fare far better than churches that fail to recognize America’s rapidly changing demographics.

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