Roman Catholics, Mormons, Pentecostals and an historically black denomination are the fastest-growing churches in the United States, according to the 2003 "Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches."
According to Religion News Service, the annual report of church membership figures, compiled by the National Council of Churches, found more than 159 million adherents in some 216 different denominations in 2001, the latest year for which figures are available.
The fastest-growing church, according to self-reported numbers, is the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, with 11.67 percent growth. Catholics followed with 2.49 percent growth, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) at 1.95 percent, and the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination, at 1.92 percent.
The list of the 10 largest U.S. churches gained a new member, the National Baptist Convention USA. The historically black denomination has not been included in the Yearbook since 1998 because of unreliable figures. The new church estimate of 5 million members puts the church in the No. 7 spot.
Three of the 10 largest churches, and six of the top 15, are historically black churches.
