“What We Can All Learn from the ELCA’s Dramatic Decline”
Ever since I became a Lutheran pastor I have been fascinated with denominational statistical trends. I have especially been interested—and concerned—with trends among Lutheran denominations in general and, starting in 1987, the statistical trends for the ELCA in particular.
The ELCA currently stands out as the Lutheran denomination dealing with the most dramatic rate of institutional decline. Or perhaps “dealing with” is something of a misnomer. Why? Because I see no indication that ELCA leaders even acknowledge their precipitous decline, let alone “deal” with it.
However, as an NALC pastor, I don’t want to only speak to what’s happening in the ELCA. I also want to address what the NALC—and the LCMC—can learn from the astonishing rate at which the ELCA is losing members. So bear with me as I share some ELCA statistical realities.
Even attempting to discern the actual rate of decline for the ELCA has, admittedly, been a significant challenge for me. The reason for this is because, by and large, ELCA leaders have chosen not to publicly acknowledge their staggering losses. And this has especially been the case since 2010.
The most striking example of the failure of ELCA leadership to address this issue was their lack of response to an article published by Faith-Lead Magazine in September of 2019. This article was written by Luther Seminary (ELCA) professor Dwight Zscheile, and was entitled, “Will the ELCA Be Gone in 30 Years?” Needless to say, this title captured my attention. (And keep in mind that Professor Zscheile was and still is a member of the faculty at Luther, the ELCA’s largest seminary.) The two most salient points of this article were predictions of the loss in baptized members and regular worship attenders if the internal demographic trends for the ELCA in 2019 continued. And here were those predictions:
1. The ELCA would only have a total of approximately 67,000 members nationally by 2050. And…
2. The number of ELCA worshipers—nationally—on a typical Sunday in 2041 will be less than 16,000.
Furthermore, this article made clear that, if these projections turned out to be accurate, the ELCA would no longer be viable as a national church body in 2050.
Given that, back in 2010, the ELCA still claimed on their website that they had “almost” five million members, I was initially skeptical that a denomination of that size could essentially implode by the year 2050. And I was also not sure how ELCA leaders would respond to this article’s conclusions. So in 2019 I started monitoring the ELCA’s national magazine, Living Lutheran, to see what their response might be. I found absolutely no response to or acknowledgment of the 2019 article; or for that matter, any article where an ELCA leader addressed the subject of the ELCA’s institutional decline.
Granted, the ELCA’s national denominational website has, over the last fifteen years been periodically adjusting downward their stated national membership total. They now (as of late 2025) describe that number as “nearly” 2.7 million members. This represents a loss of approximately 2.3 million members in fifteen years. And this translates into a 46% drop in membership in those fifteen years!
My on-going investigation, since 2019, to obtain the full story regarding what’s happening in the ELCA finally “paid off” this last November. That was when I discovered an internal study by the ELCA’s own Research and Evaluation Team, released in February of 2025. The title of this document is, “The Future Need for Pastoral Leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America”. Now while the staff’s assignment was to address the future need for more ordained pastors, part of this document is a section focused on “the present state of congregations” in the ELCA. In that section of the report the authors acknowledged that congregational membership figures were typically out-of-date; and that being the case, they instead looked at average worship attendance as the more meaningful statistic. What did they report when it came to the “present state” of ELCA congregations? Between 2015 and 2022, congregations with fewer than 50 in average attendance almost doubled. In 2015, 3 out of 10 congregations reported less than 50 worshipers on an average Sunday. By 2022, there were nearly 6 out of 10 churches in that size category. For medium-sized churches (worshiping between 151 and 250) the trend was similar. Congregations of that size were 12% of ELCA churches in 2015, but only 4% in 2022. And finally, large congregations (worshiping over 250 in 2015) were 9% of ELCA churches in 2015, but only 2% in 2022. Here’s a direct quote regarding these “large” ELCA congregations: “To be exact, in 2022, only 167 congregations (nationally) reported an average worship attendance over 250.” Keep in mind that this is only 167 “large” congregations out of the 8,500 “worshiping communities” the ELCA currently reports on their website!
One more quote from this study: “In summary, the decline in worship attendance in congregations has profoundly reshaped the makeup of the ELCA. Only a few years ago, the ELCA was composed mostly of small to medium-sized congregations. Today, it is mostly very small congregations.” (Emphasis mine)
Now keep in mind that since these statistics were true as of the year 2022, they no doubt are an undercount of the ELCA’s total losses as of 2026, and consequently minimize the current, full extent of the ELCA’s institutional decline.
But How is the ELCA’s Decline Relevant for Congregations in the NALC and LCMC?
I assume that most readers of this article belong to NALC or LCMC congregations. So let me be clear: The primary reason why the ELCA decline is so dramatic, while both the LCMC and NALC appear to be relatively stable, is because there continues to be an exodus of ELCA congregations through disaffiliation. And virtually all of these churches leaving the ELCA end up joining either (or both) the LCMC and NALC. And it’s also important to recognize that movement from the ELCA to the NALC and LCMC does not constitute evangelistic growth. To use a tired phrase, this is nothing more than a “reshuffling of the saints”.
Furthermore, it is imperative that we recognize that many of the institutional trends in the ELCA—such as plummeting numbers of baptisms and confirmations—and an aging membership, are also trends among many LCMC and NALC churches. Just one demographic statistic that pertains to our country’s population as a whole: Between 2010 and 2020 the U.S. population of seniors 65 and over grew nearly five times faster than the overall population. Not surprisingly, this trend has an impact on the overwhelming majority of our congregations.
However, to put it bluntly, I think we need to consider whether we can learn from the dramatic decline of the ELCA. In other words, we need to ask whether the LCMC and NALC could be facing similar rates of decline in the not-too-distant future.
Now I’m convinced that part of the ELCA’s rate of decline is due to the increased politicization of the ELCA since 2009. But I also believe that a second cause for this decline is an apparent complete disregard, by most ELCA leaders, of the importance of congregational evangelism. So consider this a wake-up call for all Lutheran congregations: It’s time to make evangelistic outreach your top ministry priority. And not just to stem the tide of future institutional decline. Ultimately this is about our New Testament mandate to share the Good News; to witness to the increasing number of Americans who self-identify as “nones” when asked about their religious affiliation. It’s about reaching out and connecting—as individuals and congregations—to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Just trying to “keep the ship (your congregation) afloat” will no longer suffice. The challenges we are facing are too significant for us to settle for a passive and/or reactive response. Instead, we need proactive, congregation-wide strategies for reaching, evangelizing and discipling those in our community who are not a part of a Christian church. In pursuit of that goal, I encourage you to consider the ministry strategies below.
Congregational Outreach Strategies
The single, overarching principle I advocate for is simply this: Creating new groups and ministries for new people. And to pursue this principle in a comprehensive way, consider what this principle could entail in four areas of your congregation’s ministry. (And if you can’t do all four simultaneously, choose one to start with, and try to excel in that one area of ministry.)
1. Small Groups and Bible Studies. This could be your primary discipling (i.e., disciple-making) effort. It can be the best way to not only help members grow in their faith; it can also be a tremendous witnessing opportunity that will—incrementally—help motivate members to bring friends and acquaintances to your congregation. Never forget the unfortunate reality with small groups that are only made up of already-committed members: they often become cliques. However, small groups with a discipling emphasis can become effective ways to reach the unchurched; one person (or two) at a time. For published discipling small-group resources consider Sola Publishing.
2. Worship and Hospitality. For your worship service to reach and assimilate new people it needs to be both participatory in its content and be characterized—before and after worship—by intentional hospitality. Here’s the goal: Make your Sunday morning worship life the kind of experience that will motivate and inspire your members to invite and bring their unchurched friends and acquaintances to your service.
3. Community Outreach. Do this primarily for the sake of those you serve. But do it, in addition, so your members can use their gifts in such a ministry, and so your congregation will be seen, by your surrounding community, as the church that does far more than simply “take care of its own”.
4. Organizing and/or strengthening your ministries for children and youth; and for their parents.
This can be a huge challenge. Some congregations are simply too small; and as a result don’t have any children or youth. However, if you sense any potential at all to build this kind of ministry, be ready to invest the necessary resources to help make this happen. Remember that for those congregations who end up without any nesting stage, active families, their future, long-term viability as a faith community is at risk.
If you have any questions regarding the details of these congregational outreach strategies, don’t hesitate to contact me directly by email.
Pastor Don Brandt
pastordonbrandt@gmail.com
Director of Lutheran CORE’s Congregations in Transition, and the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative
