June 3, 2009
In our oldest field of work (United States) there are 63,777 full members in 967 churches with 1,917 ordained elders. Each elder oversees an average of 34 people. In one of our newest fields (Vietnam) there are over 3,000 members in 66 churches with 4 ordained elders. Each elder oversees an average of 750 people.
May 6, 2009
The Free Methodist Church in the United States has five denominational colleges and universities with more than 12,000 students enrolled:
April 9, 2009
63% of FM churches in the US are located in metropolitan areas with a population greater than 50,000.
35% of FM churches in the US are located in metropolitan areas of 1 million people or more.
41% of FMs in the US attend a church located in a metropolitan area greater than 1 million people.
March 4, 2009
32% of the people who attend Free Methodist Churches in the United States are under age 18.
14% of the people who attend Free Methodist Churches in the United States are 65 or older.
January 7, 2009
Fifty-nine students are attending ministerial training classes during this year's J-Term at the Free Methodist World Ministries Center in Indianapolis (January 5-17). Nineteen annual conferences are represented in the student mix.
November 5, 2008
In 2007 Free Methodists in the United States gave $144 million; $7.7 million of this giving was to missions. If all other church spending remained the same and FM attendees tithed 10 percent of their income, we could have given an additional $229 million to missions. (Tithing income figures from the 2006 census bureau average U.S. household income.)
October 1, 2008
In 2007 there were 47 new Free Methodist churches planted in North America and England. In 2008 there have been 33 Free Methodist churches planted.
September 3, 2008
Free Methodist World Membership = 731,791
FM Membership in Africa = 52.9 %
FM Membership in India = 17.8 %
FM Membership in the United States = 10.1 %
August 6, 2008
Radical Generosity
Principal founder of the Free Methodist Church, B.T. Roberts, and his wife, Ellen sold their home to buy a church in the city. Ellen writes in her journal, “My husband felt we must get a place for worship in the heart of the city, where the gospel could be preached to the poor. He could see no way of doing it except he gave our home towards it. It was all we had. I looked the matter over. We had three children. I thought of the way the Disciples were led, at that marvelous outpouring of the Spirit, when they ‘sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need.’ … Let those who have prayed long for blessings not received, begin to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and yield themselves and [their] substance to the Lord as if they meant it, and he will pour them out blessings that will measure beyond their desires and expectations.”
Looking for more? Check out Howard Snyder’s history of B.T. and Ellen Roberts’ lives in Populist Saints. Click here for more information.
July 2, 2008
57% of Evangelicals believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. This finding comes from The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life based on their interviews with 35,000 American adults. View the entire U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.
Free Methodists believe that Jesus is the only way to God. Consider these official statements from our Free Methodist Book of Discipline and the scriptures that support this view:
Christ’s Sacrifice (¶114 from the Book of Discipline)
Christ offered once and for all the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. No other satisfaction for sin is necessary; none other can atone. See Luke 24:46-48; John 3:16; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8-11; Galatians 2:16; 3:2-3; Ephesians 1:7-8; 2:13; Hebrews 9:11-14, 25-26; 10:8-14.
Final Destiny (¶130 from the Book of Discipline)
Our eternal destiny is determined by God’s grace and our response, not by arbitrary decrees of God. For those who trust Him and obediently follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, there is a heaven of eternal glory and the blessedness of Christ’s presence. But for the finally impenitent there is a hell of eternal suffering and of separation from God. See Mark 9:42-48; John 14:3; Hebrews 2:1-3; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:22-27.
June 4, 2008
Did you know that the average weekly worship attendance at Free Methodist Churches in the United States is 107,000 people? Worldwide Free Methodist worship attendance each week is about 800,000.
