We firmly believe in the Biblical truth that “…there [is] more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents…” (Luke 15:7, NIV). As the family of God, the Church, too, rejoices when new members are added to the fold. This rejoicing is not about the simple statistical increase in membership but, most importantly, it’s about the salvation of our brothers and sisters.
In the recent 2023 Annual Statistical Report, we published data on how the Covid-19 pandemic affected our church accession numbers from the years 2019 to 2022. Findings show that in most Divisions, accessions decreased sharply in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In most cases, accessions began to rebound in 2021 and even more so in 2022. However, in the South Pacific Division (SPD), there was a rare 25% increase in accessions in 2020 and yet a decline in accessions in the two following years. In the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD), accessions also remained steady from 2019 through 2020 and rebounded significantly thereafter.
Accession by Division Over 5 Years
It is also noteworthy that some Divisions, such as the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) and the Southern Asia Division (SUD), have made a slower comeback to pre-Covid accession numbers. It is clear that, in every Division, Covid-19 had a significant impact on accessions in the world-wide Church.
World Accessions Over 10 Years
It is encouraging to see that 2022 accessions rebounded considerably after the dramatic drop in accession in 2020. This shows that, despite the negative effects of Covid-19, accessions in 2022 were back over the 1 million mark where they have been for 19 of the last 23 years.
In 2020, accessions dropped to 803,430, but in 2022, they grew to 1,358,309, a remarkable 69% increase. Nearly every Division’s accession increased from 2020 to 2022. In fact, accessions in East-Central Africa Division (ECD) increased by 108%, and those in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID), by 159%. Our Church continues to grow; thanks be to God!
While we celebrate this significant growth in accession, we must equally foster care for the new members to keep them in the Church family. As joyful as it is to see new members join the Church, it is sad to see many others leave who could probably have stayed.
Ellen G. White’s counsel should be heeded: “Those who have newly come to the faith should be patiently and tenderly dealt with, and it is the duty of the older members of the church to devise ways and means to provide help and sympathy and instruction for those who have conscientiously withdrawn from other churches” (Evangelism, p. 351). This duty cannot be ignored because it plays an important role in the growth of the Church.
A steady and sustainable growth depends on prayerful care and nurture of new members. Accession to the Church should never be considered like graduating from “the world.” It is just the start of a new journey that must be supported to see members grow in their Christian life. The same zeal that we have in reaching out to unbelievers should be the same zeal we have in nurturing all church members, and especially the new ones. This is possible through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.
You can access the full report here.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.
Published by ASTR on 04/10/2024.