Religion: Progress Report, May 23, 1949

Ten years ago last week, the biggest merger in Protestant history created the biggest Protestant body in the U.S.—the Methodist Church. To celebrate the decennial, the Methodists published some statistics to warm every Wesleyan heart.

Membership in the new church has grown by 795,002—from 7,856,060 to 8,651,062—an increase of more than 10%. Contributions for use outside local churches zoomed from $11 million in 1940 to $28 million last year. The value of church property rose from $704,000,000 to $1,077,000,000. Most dramatic figure of all: though local mergers have reduced the number of churches, there are now 5,000 more Methodist Sunday schools (37,908) with an average attendance that has grown 18% in the last four years.