Chicago, USA - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says its membership dropped 1.6 percent to 4.85 million last year.
However, income for the year increased nearly 3 percent or $76 million over 2004, to reach about $2.7 billion. Offerings to congregations increased, as did return on investments.
The denomination blames the membership decline on the disbanding of 31 of its 10,549 congregations, an update of membership lists in many churches and a decrease in new members.
Over the past 15 years, the baptized membership of the denomination has decreased by about 390,000, with half of that decline occurring between 2002 and 2005.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church is among many mainline Protestant denominations that have seen their membership plummet in recent years.