Christian Apologetics Society: Methodists Decline in England

Scripture Memorization

Isaiah 55:11
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it

Gen 1:3
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light

Matthew 26:26
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body."

Malachi 1:11
My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.

John 20:23
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

James 2:14
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Luke 20:38
For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.

Rev 21:27
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

1 Cor 3:15
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

John 3:5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

1 Timothy 3:15
but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Methodists Decline in England

David of VirtueOnline points us to a good article in the British TimesOnline on the continuing aging and decline of the English Methodist denomination.

The heart of the article states:

"Since several Methodist denominations united to form the British Methodist Church in 1932, membership has been in decline. In 1790, shortly before Wesley died, there were 57,000 Methodist members in Britain. By 1890 there were 726,000 members. A century later membership was down to 425,000, and by 2004 it had fallen sharply to below 300,000. Needless to say, the decline is worrying for Methodist leaders."

We've prevously noted here at CAS the decline of American mainline Protestant denominations, including the American branch of Methodism.

Stephen Plant, the author and a Methodist minister himself, writes one of the best "soundbites" on the decline. He writes:

"If the Methodist Church were to decline at the same rate in the coming decades as it has in the last, by 2040 Methodists in Britain would go the same way as Mohicans in North America."

While we commiserate with our Methodists brothers and sisters in England and around the world, CAS takes the longer strategic view and sees the decline of many Christian denominations as Christ healing the many schisms that have divided His One Church. We must decrease so that Christ may increase. Its an exciting age to be a Christian.

John 3:30

Labels: Demographics, Methodist, Statistics