There are many ways to approach the "who" question. Clearly the most mundane way is statistics. Nonetheless statistics are useful. Each year, Delaware-Maryland Synod congregations submit statistics about their membership, budgets, and other "countable" aspects of ministry. Although much about congregational ministry is not measurable by any numerical standard, these statistics help the synod and its parent denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, to analyze growth patterns and other trends. Here's a quick summary of the most recently released synod statistics, as of 2000. Where appropriate, the percentage of change from 1994 statistics is indicated in parentheses.
Membership and Attendance Statistics
In general, synod statistics declined between 2002 and 2003. The number of congregations declined, as did the number of baptized members and the percentage of baptized members attending worship. The only statistical increase of slightly more than 3% was indicated in the number of communing and contributing members. During the same one-year period, the ELCA reported that membership dipped below the 5 million mark for the first time, with a loss of 53,081 baptized members (about 1%), for a total of 4,984,925 baptized members in 10,657 congregations. Click here to read a summary of the ELCA statistical trends for 2003.
| 2003 | % change from 2002 | |
| Total number of congregations: | 184 | (-1.6%) |
| Baptized members: | 95,741 | (-1.78%) |
| Confirmed members: | 65,568 | (-0.72%) |
| Confirmed and contributing members: | 41,975 | (-11.0%) |
| Total attendance at worship in reporting synod congregations each week: | 25,846 | (-3.54%) |
| Percentage of baptized members attending worship: | 27.96% | (-1.82%) |
That means that the average Delaware-Maryland Synod congregation that reported to the ELCA had
- 502 baptized members
- 356 confirmed members
- 228 communing and contributing members
- 140 people in worship each Sunday
Distribution of Congregations by Size
| Category | Number of baptized members | Number of synod congregations in this category | % of total synod congregations | Total number of people in synod in this category | % of total number of people in synod |
| Forming | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Very small | 1-175 | 42 | 22.82 | 4,785 | 5.17 |
| Small | 176-350 | 50 | 27.17 | 12,510 | 13.53 |
| Moderately small | 351-500 | 23 | 12.50 | 9,773 | 10.57 |
| Medium sized | 501-700 | 32 | 17.39 | 18,869 | 20.41 |
| Moderately large | 701-950 | 16 | 8.69 | 12,948 | 14.01 |
| Large | 951-1,500 | 13 | 7.06 | 15,048 | 16.28 |
| Very Large | More than 1.500 | 8 | 4.34 | 18,479 | 19.99 |
The Delaware-Maryland Synod, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is firmly committed to being a diverse and inclusive faith community. Statistics from 2003 indicate these ethnic groups as baptized members of synod congregations.
| Group | 2003 | % change from 2002 | % of ethnic baptized membership |
| African American/Black | 1,726 | +0.87 | 1.86 |
| African American/Black Hispanic | 32 | +60.00 | 0.03 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 47 | -4.08 | 0.05 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native Hispanic | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Arab/Middle Eastern | 22 | New in 2003 | 0.02 |
| Arab/Middle Eastern Hispanic | 9 | New in 2003 | 0.00 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 232 | -2.92 | 0.25 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander Hispanic | 0 | -100.00 | 0.00 |
| MultiEthnic | 120 | New in 2003 | 0.12 |
| Multiethnic Hispanic | 20 | New in 2003 | 0.02 |
| White | 90,014 | -1.97 | 97.40 |
| White Hispanic | 111 | +11.00 | 0.12 |
| Other | 71 | -45.80 | 0.07 |
| Other Hispanic | 8 | +14.28 | 0.00 |
A Sampling of Ministry Statistics
These data are excerpted from the 153 synod congregations which completed this section of the 2003 report forms.
- Some 2,015 teachers and coordinators worked with 11,071 Sunday school pupils in 2003.
- Of congregations which provided adult education opportunities, 62 offered forums or large-group presentations, 131 offered Bible study groups, 49 offered support and recovery groups, and 22 provided parent education classes.
- Only 39 reporting synod congregations offered education support for emotionally, developmentally and physically disabled participants.
- In reporting on outreach to non-members in 2003, 96 congregations set up a Web site, 93 ran a paid newspaper/magazine ad, 65 ran a phone book/ yellow pages ad, and 137 encouraged congregation members to invite a new person.
- Some 63 congregations reported working with a local food bank, and 41 responded that they're involved in some kind of criminal justice ministry.
Congregational Financial Statistics
The overall financial picture for reporting congregations was positive, with regular giving increasing between in one year by more than 2.5% and the regular giving per average baptized member up by not quite 3.5%.
| 2003 | % change since 2002 | % of total disbursements | |
| Total regular giving to synod congretations: | $29,777,874 | +2.66 | NA |
| Current operating expenses: | $31,135,290 | +4.45 | 67.43 |
| Capitol improvements: | $5,909,471 | +9.94 | 12.79 |
| Payment on debts: | $2,986,716 | -0.63 | 6.46 |
| Mission support: | $2,630,379 | +1.38 | 5.69 |
| Average giving per baptized member: | $543 | +3.43 | NA |
| Number of bequests received by congregations: | $193 | (+153.94 | NA |
| Total value of bequests received: | $2,279,856 | -3.84 | NA |