Membership in Iowa United Methodist Churches has dropped by more than 100,000  

Official Iowa United Methodist membership totals from the Iowa Annual Conference office tell a sad story: 

                   1968:  318,739 members 

                   2002:  199,493 members (most recent available total) 

These figures show a net loss of more than one-third of our Iowa members—down 37% in 36 years.  

The actual membership loss is probably far greater.  Until recently, annual apportionments (amounts which local churches are required to pay for church activities and bureaucracy at state, national, and world levels) were based on membership of the local church. 

(These apportionments are very high—a heavy "church tax" burden on our local churches and their ministries.  Methodist Laity Reform Movement works to replace mandatory apportionments with “askings,” so the people of each local church can decide which activities they choose to support.) 

That apportionment formula was changed several year ago (wisely,
I believe) so that local churches would no longer be penalized for gaining members.

But the result is that local churches no longer have any incentive to remove inactive persons from the member list.  Previously, local churches annually reviewed a list of inactive members and usually removed them after 3 years.  This is no longer done in most churches. 

Each year that passes, Iowa United Methodist member totals probably include a higher proportion of inactive members, including many who have moved away or who are attending other churches. 

Dave Stanley

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