Sixteen states had attendance growth rates that were better than the national population growth. California reported 58 new churches over the decade . . . Massachusetts, with only 18 new. Churches begun, had a net gain of 16 churches over the decade. . . Only Rhode Island had a better percentage increase . . .
State reports show that Nazarenes grow by outreach .
While some individual churches do a good job of attracting other Nazarenes to join their membership, membership growth for any substantial area depends upon winning new Nazarenes. Membership growth in every state depends far more on receiving new Nazarenes than upon Nazarene transfers. Churches of the Nazarene in Florida, with large numbers of Nazarenes moving in, received over 10,000 Nazarene transfers last decade . . . and lost nearly 9,000 to other Nazarene churches. Florida was the only state to have a net gain of at least 1,000 transfers, yet its total membership gain for the decade was over 6,700. If every Nazarene transfer was still a member at the end of the decade . . .