For one denomination, growth for 19 straight years

The Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal body in the United States according to pollsters, says it added adherents in 2008. It’s the 19th straight year of growth for the Springfield, Mo. based fellowship, which counts 2.9 million followers in all 50 states.
Frank Lockwood

In an era that has shown steady decline in church attendance among most of the major religious organizations in the United States, the Assemblies of God continues to buck the trend — having shown growth in U.S. adherents for 19 consecutive years.

In the Annual Church Ministries Report compiled and recently released by Assemblies of God Statistician Sherri Doty, for the year 2008, the Assemblies of God showed an increase in membership by 1.3 percent, as membership rose by more than 21,000 to 1,662,632, and a 1.3 percent increase in adherents as that number rose by more than 36,000 to 2,899,702.

“The increase by more than one percent is significant,” Doty states. “The U.S. population grows by about one percent a year — this is an indication that we are growing faster than the population. And in light of the steady declines in attendance by other religious organizations over the past years, this is encouraging news.” the rest