They relied on research from the business services firm Towers Watson. It found about 15 percent were so-called vital congregations, with strong preaching and lay leadership, and a mixture of contemporary and traditional worship.

Better pastors. Healthier churches. Less bureaucracy.

United Methodists hope that combination will help turn around decades of declining membership and attendance, according to the new “Call to Action” proposal being discussed by Methodist leaders.

The proposal blames a lack of leadership for the denomination’s struggles. The church has lost 2.89 million members in the U.S. since 1970, dropping to 7.8 million today. The report’s authors say the drop is killing the church’s effectiveness.

Shrinking membership and budget shortfalls have caused a crisis, said Bishop Dick Wills of the Tennessee Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

“The United Methodist Church as it is today is not financially sustainable,” Wills said. “It is growingly irrelevant to the culture. The Call to Action is an attempt to remedy that.”

Methodist leaders hope the new report will push the denomination to change, said Tammy Gaines, vice president of business operations for the Nashville-based United Methodist Publishing House. Gaines said that for years, Methodist leaders have known their denomination had troubles. But they’ve been unable to turn things around.

“The statistics show that we’ve been stuck in a rut for years,” she said. “Hopefully, this will un-stick us.”

Gaines said that healthy local congregations are crucial. “The congregation is the central focus,” she said. “Everything we do as a church, it is all in support in creating vital congregations.”

Read More: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-11-07-methodist07_ST_N.htm