Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (1976 - 2017) - Religious Group
Religious Family: Friends/BrethrenReligious Tradition: Mainline Protestant
Description: The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches was founded in the 1930s by former members of the Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio). It was known as the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches from 1939-1976, at which point it took this name until 2017. In 2017, the group changed its name to Charis Fellowship.
Official Site: Not available
Connections: Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
| Group (Active) | Group (Defunct) | Other |
Maps: Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches1
Adherence Rate per 1,000 (1980)
Congregations (2020)
Top 5 Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches States (1980)1 [View all States]
| Rank | State | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | 53 | 11,086 | 1.03 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 49 | 9,630 | 0.81 |
| 3 | Indiana | 18 | 3,734 | 0.68 |
| 4 | Virginia | 19 | 3,357 | 0.63 |
| 5 | Maryland | 9 | 2,410 | 0.57 |
Top 5 Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches Counties (1980)1 [View all Counties]
| Rank | County | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osborne County, KS | 1 | 136 | 22.82 |
| 2 | Rockbridge County, VA | 1 | 719 | 22.53 |
| 3 | Kosciusko County, IN | 4 | 1,341 | 22.52 |
| 4 | Ashland County, OH | 2 | 825 | 17.87 |
| 5 | Taos County, NM | 1 | 299 | 15.37 |
Top 5 Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches Metro Areas (1980)1 [View all Metro Areas]
| Rank | Metro | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw, IN Micro Area | 4 | 1,341 | 22.52 |
| 2 | Ashland, OH Micro Area | 2 | 825 | 17.87 |
| 3 | Taos, NM Micro Area | 1 | 299 | 15.37 |
| 4 | Somerset, PA Micro Area | 7 | 1,080 | 13.29 |
| 5 | Wooster, OH Micro Area | 3 | 1,293 | 13.27 |
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Members (1975 - 1997)2
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Ministers & Churches (1975 - 1997)2
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Trends (1975 - 1997)2
| YEAR | MEMBERS | MINISTERS | CHURCHES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 37,727 | 497 | 249 |
| 1978 | 39,605 | 529 | 262 |
| 1979 | 40,680 | 571 | 279 |
| 1981 | 42,023 | 475 | 284 |
| 1984 | 42,118 | 624 | 301 |
| 1985 | 41,767 | 519 | 312 |
| 1989 | 39,481 | 653 | 319 |
| 1991 | 39,237 | 600 | 322 |
| 1992 | 36,220 | 600 | 308 |
| 1993 | 34,702 | 500 | 286 |
| 1994 | 32,229 | 700 | 273 |
| 1995 | 39,511 | 630 | 273 |
| 1996 | 34,500 | 562 | 270 |
| 1997 | 30,371 | 564 | 260 |
Sources
1 The 2020 data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include data for 372 religious bodies or groups. Of these, the ASARB was able to gather data on congregations and adherents for 217 and on congregations only for 155. [More information on the data sources]
2 All data on clergy, members, and churches are taken from the National Council of Churches’ Historic Archive CD and recent print editions of the Council’s Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The CD archives all 68 editions of the Yearbook (formerly called Yearbook of the Churches and Yearbook of American Churches) from 1916 to 2000. Read more information on the Historic Archive CD and the Yearbook.
Membership figures are "inclusive." According to the Yearbook, this includes "those who are full communicant or confirmed members plus other members baptized, non-confirmed or non-communicant." Each denomination has its own criteria for membership.
When a denomination listed on the Historic Archive CD was difficult to identify, particularly in early editions of the Yearbook, the ARDA staff consulted numerous sources, including Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions and the Handbook of Denominations in the United States. In some cases, ARDA staff consulted the denomination’s website or contacted its offices by phone. When a denomination could not be positively identified, its data were omitted.
