Fewer Joiners

Churchmen shook their heads gloomily last week as they scanned in the Christian Herald figures snowing U. S. church memberships for the year 1930. The total gain in memberships was 88,350. In 1929 it had been 242,748; in 1928, more than 1,000,000.

Biggest loss of members was suffered by the Methodist Episcopal Church: 43,211 during the year. Other losses: Oriental Orthodox, 37,200; Presbyterian, 22,763; Disciples of Christ, 18,567; Unitarian, 4,994.

Biggest gain: the Baptists, with 74,706 new members. Others: Lutherans, 56,180; Protestant Episcopal Church, 16,532; Assemblies of God, 15,660. The Roman Catholic Church published its Official Catholic Directory for 1931, listed its increase as 13,391, its total membership as 20,901,593 (comprising entire families, not merely communicants as do the Protestant figures).

Century ago there were in the U. S. ten church members for every 75 persons. Now there are ten for every 25. (Total number of communicants: 50,037,245.) Dr. George Linn Kieffer, statistical secretary of the United Lutheran Church, declared in the Christian Herald: " the churches are losing ground, the reason and the remedy can be found in part in an analysis of the message they are proclaiming to the world. An age of doubt and question, of depression and lawlessness demands from the pulpits of the land a clear ringing statement--'We should fear and love God!' "

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