All kinds of church congregations throughout the United States are shrinking. According to Gallup, a research company that tracks trends and insights, membership in America’s churches dropped below 50 percent in 2020 for the first time in the 80 years Gallup has been collecting such data. “The two major trends driving the drop in church membership: more adults with no religious preference and falling rates of church membership among people who do have a religion,” meaning younger people aren’t into it, and older church members are passing away.
On Tuesday, February 19th, at the financial planning seminar Pastor Hannah, Chad Wolfe, and I attended, the Reverend D. Edward Bailey, executive director of the United Methodist Foundation of Pennsylvania, confirmed this trend. In fact, Reverend Bailey specified that most Methodist churches throughout the country have less than 100 congregants.
But guess who is succeeding despite those trends? That’s right! SUMC is, thanks to you and your kids, and grandkids and great-grandkids!
Data the Leadership Board collects and tracks showed in January 2025 that an average of 549 worshipers attended SUMC’s Sunday services (including in person and online). That’s up 59 percent over last January. We old-timers haven’t embraced online attendance as a good thing yet, but Reverend Bailey told us to be proud of online increases and “to affirm it and preach to it.” After all, youngsters have been operating this way for more than a decade, so it’s about time we catch up. It’s our way of life now and, frankly, it’s a fabulous option when we need a service that fits more conveniently into our lifestyles.
But it’s also important for our church’s collective spirit to connect with you in-person every so often. That’s why we’re excited about SUMC’s 2025 New Members’ class that Pastor Hannah is currently leading. Seventeen of our church friends—some old and some new—have decided to become members here at SUMC. Whatever their motivation, whether to become closer to God or be part of a faith community or engage with like-minded people or find ways to serve or get through troubling times, we recognize your commitment and we welcome you, support you, and are here for whatever your spirit needs.
It turns out SUMC is bucking another national trend reported by Gallup. When I was growing up, about 67 percent of us kids attended church regularly, but now that number has shrunk by more than half. Recently, Bill Utterback shared joy about the growth of our Children and Youth ministries, which uplifted all our spirits. A few Sundays ago, more than 25 kids from pre-K through high school participated in SUMC’s Children and Youth programs. According to Bill, 25 is a crazy number of kids, especially on an uneventful, gray Sunday morning in February. SUMC’s best attended day previously was Mother’s Day 2024 when 27 kids participated. Let’s keep this extraordinary energy going as we support our kids and Mr. Bill, Mr. Dan, Ms. Felicity, and Ms. Grace, the ministry’s leaders.
Finally, take a moment to read John chapter 15, the Vine and the Branches. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches who are part of Jesus and bearing fruit! Remember, “no branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.”
Lynn Colosi
Leadership Board Member