NR #1995-017: For Immediate Release Alliance of Reformed Churches Continues Dramatic Growth by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer Reformed Believers Press Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (February 15, 1995) RBPS - The Christian Reformed denomination may be suffering from a declining membership, but that problem definitely is not facing the Alliance of Reformed Churches. According to the 1995 yearbook of the Alliance, the membership of its independent congregations now totals 10,805 - a total higher than every Dutch Reformed denomination in North America other than the Christian Reformed denomination, the Reformed Church in America, and the Canadian Reformed Churches. The 1995 totals reflect a 49% growth rate since the previous yearbook was produced in 1993, and even higher totals when compared to previous figures. In 1993, the Alliance had 32 independent congregations with 7255 members. The very first Alliance statistics from May 1992 reported 13 independent churches with 2869 members; since then, the independent churches have almost quadrupled in membership. Growth of the Alliance has brought with it a need for further organization, and the Alliance now has regional fellowships consisting of churches in a certain geographic area. Currently there are three such fellowships: the Lake Michigan Regional Fellowship, with 17 churches in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin and one in New York City; the Ontario Regional Fellowship with 16 churches in the province of Ontario, and the Western Regional Fellowship with 10 churches in the western Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. An additional eleven churches, mostly small congregations, are scattered in other locations through the United States: five on the west coast, two in Iowa, and one each in Missouri, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey. A possible sign of future growth in the independent movement is indicated by the number of congregations in the Alliance which are members of other denominations. There are currently 27 churches in the Alliance with over six thousand members which are members of other denominations; mostly Christian Reformed but also including a scattering of Orthodox Christian Reformed, Canadian Reformed, Presbyterian Church in America, and Orthodox Presbyterian congregations. How have Alliance leaders responded to the growth? "I think that it is an evidence of the Lord's blessing," said ARC stated clerk Rev. Jerome Julien. "The Word is being preached, we're grateful for that. Where the Word is preached, the people will be; where there is an attempt to be faithful to the Word of God, there is the blessing of the Lord." Membership Totals for Dutch Reformed Ecclesiastical Bodies Reformed Church in America (1994 Ybk) 323,255* Christian Reformed Church in North America (1995 Ybk): 294,179 Canadian and American Reformed Churches (1994 Ybk) 13,887 Alliance of Reformed Churches (1995 Ybk) 10,805 Netherlands Reformed Congregations (1995 Est) 8,500 Protestant Reformed Churches (1994 Ybk) 6,253 Free Reformed Churches (1993 Ybk) 3,483 Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregations (1995 Est) 1,500 Federation of Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches (1994 Ybk) 1,200 * NOTE: Membership totals for the Reformed Church in America include 44,478 persons defined by local churches as inactive members, a category not included in reports for any of the other denominations. The active membership total for the RCA is 278,777 members. Cross-References to Related RBPS Articles: #1994-006 1994 CRC Yearbook Reports Loss of 11,000 Members, Ten Years of Growth Wiped Out; 3.5% drop from 311,202 to 300,320 members unprecedented in CRC history; Accelerating denominational loss totals 16,095 or 5.1% since 1992; CRC yearbook claims drop from 311,202 to 300,320 equals decline of 783 #1995-016 Continuing Christian Reformed Hemorrhage Costs CRC 22,000 Members in Three Years; Unprecedented Loss Tops Seven Percent of Pre-1993 Membership, Knocks Denomination Back Fifteen Years to 1980 Membership Levels Contact List: Rev. Jerome Julien, Stated Clerk, Alliance of Reformed Churches 34 Azores Crescent, Cambridge, ON N1R 7Z4 * H/O: (519) 622-1033 ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/reformed: nr95-017.txt .