American Rescue Workers (1884 - Present) - Religious Group
Religious Family: HolinessReligious Tradition: Unclassified
Description: The American Rescue Workers is a socially active Holiness church founded in 1884 by Thomas E. Moore and former members of the Salvation Army. It originally took the name Salvation Army (the same name as the group it splintered from), but changed its name to American Salvation Army in 1890. In 1913, it took its present name.
Official Site: http://www.arwnational.org/
Connections: American Rescue Workers
| Group (Active) | Group (Defunct) | Other |
American Rescue Workers, Members (1925 - 2007)1
American Rescue Workers, Ministers & Churches (1925 - 2007)1
American Rescue Workers, Trends (1925 - 2007)1
| YEAR | MEMBERS | MINISTERS | CHURCHES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 6,946 | 510 | 159 |
| 1929 | 7,975 | 560 | 175 |
| 1935 | 10,860 | 579 | 180 |
| 1937 | 2,660 | 45 | |
| 1939 | 1,391 | 32 | |
| 1947 | 1,240 | 23 | |
| 1950 | 1,240 | 23 | |
| 1952 | 1,240 | 30 | 23 |
| 1956 | 1,500 | 25 | 25 |
| 1957 | 1,500 | 25 | 25 |
| 1958 | 2,200 | 30 | 30 |
| 1959 | 2,340 | 30 | 33 |
| 1960 | 2,350 | 30 | 35 |
| 1961 | 2,350 | 42 | 34 |
| 1962 | 3,010 | 40 | 40 |
| 1963 | 3,210 | 45 | 41 |
| 1965 | 3,575 | 50 | 45 |
| 1967 | 5,500 | 40 | 45 |
| 1968 | 5,580 | 42 | 46 |
| 1969 | 5,650 | 52 | 46 |
| 1970 | 5,785 | 49 | 46 |
| 1971 | 5,410 | 53 | 46 |
| 1972 | 2,500 | 45 | 25 |
| 1973 | 1,100 | 34 | 18 |
| 1974 | 2,700 | 80 | 25 |
| 1975 | 2,700 | 30 | 25 |
| 1976 | 750 | 40 | 14 |
| 1977 | 1,000 | 36 | 14 |
| 1978 | 2,140 | 43 | 15 |
| 1984 | 2,700 | 53 | 20 |
| 1992 | 35,000 | 96 | 16 |
| 1995 | 8,000 | 31 | 15 |
| 1996 | 10,000 | 56 | 15 |
| 1999 | 2,500 | 35 | 15 |
| 2001 | 3,000 | 35 | 15 |
| 2004 | 3,500 | 35 | 15 |
| 2006 | 3,500 | 29 | 6 |
| 2007 | 3,500 | 29 | 5 |
Sources
1 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.
