Christ’s church is not dying

ELCA reaches milestone in welcoming new congregations
5/28/2015 3:00:00 PM

CHICAGO (ELCA) – For the Rev. Ruben Duran, the message is quite clear – “Christ’s church is not dying.” That’s a different message, he says, than what has been widely reported in recent years about the decline in membership among U.S. mainline denominations, such as the 3.8 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

As director of ELCA new starts, Duran believes that this church “is not dying. It is changing” – particularly as the ELCA reaches a significant milestone this spring.

Since the ELCA began in 1988 as a result of a merger, more than 500 new congregations have been “planted, organized and joined the ELCA. That is a milestone worth celebrating,” said Duran. The “changing part,” he said, is that 56 percent of all ELCA new starts are among ethnic-multicultural communities, and 27 percent in communities where people are living in poverty or low-income. Another 26 new ministries started with leaders whose congregations left the ELCA in recent years, and there are 65 ELCA prison ministries.

Put that all together, he said, and “we have 10 percent of the denomination in the growing stages. This is a good moment to celebrate. God is making all things new. The new start is the new skin of this church, and the new skin of the ELCA is a fusion of many nations being welcomed into the ELCA. It reflects the country that we’re becoming. We are not dying. We are changing.”

Read the entire article at ELCA News and Events.