NEW YORK (UMNS) — The 2010 State of the Church Report tells United Methodists something they are already painfully aware of — U.S. membership is continuing its long decline even as the denomination expands internationally. In the decade between 1998 and 2008, overall membership grew by 14 percent for those who come into membership by profession of faith and 27 percent for baptized members. At the end of 2008, the church had approximately 11 million professing members and an additional 2.5 million baptized members in Africa, Europe, the United States and the Philippines. But U.S.membership has declined every year since The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 and dropped by nearly 590,000 between 1998 and 2008.
