Sovereign Grace Churches (1982 - Present) - Religious Group
Religious Family: BaptistReligious Tradition: Evangelical Protestant
Description: Sovereign Grace Ministries, formerly known as People of Destiny International (until 2003) and Sovereign Grace Ministries (until 2014), dates back to the early 1970s and a ministry by Larry Tomczak and C. J. Mahaney. The ministry efforts of Tomczak and Mahaney led to the establishment of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 1978. In 1982, they founded People of Destiny International (PDI) to provide resources and training for churches, primarily through commissioning apostles to work with individual churches. In 1998, Tomczak left PDI over theological differences, and the group changed its name to Sovereign Grace Ministries. In 2014, they again changed their name to better reflect their identity as a family of churches.
Official Site: https://sovereigngrace.com/
Interactive Timeline: Baptist Family Interactive Timeline
Sovereign Grace Churches: Congregations (2020)1
Top 5 Sovereign Grace Churches States (2020)1 [View all States]
| Rank | State | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 8 | -- | -- |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 7 | -- | -- |
| 3 | Florida | 5 | -- | -- |
| 4 | Maryland | 5 | -- | -- |
| 5 | Virginia | 4 | -- | -- |
Top 5 Sovereign Grace Churches Counties (2020)1 [View all Counties]
| Rank | County | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange County, FL | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2 | Montgomery County, MD | 2 | -- | -- |
| 3 | Orange County, CA | 2 | -- | -- |
| 4 | Delaware County, PA | 2 | -- | -- |
| 5 | Philadelphia County, PA | 2 | -- | -- |
Top 5 Sovereign Grace Churches Metro Areas (2020)1 [View all Metro Areas]
| Rank | Metro | Congregations | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area | 7 | -- | -- |
| 2 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area | 5 | -- | -- |
| 3 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area | 3 | -- | -- |
| 4 | El Paso, TX Metro Area | 2 | -- | -- |
| 5 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area | 2 | -- | -- |
Sovereign Grace Churches, Members (1981 - 2002)2
Sovereign Grace Churches, Ministers & Churches (1981 - 2002)2
Sovereign Grace Churches, Trends (1981 - 2002)2
| YEAR | MEMBERS | MINISTERS | CHURCHES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 2,600 | 275 | 275 |
| 1982 | 2,600 | 275 | 275 |
| 1983 | 7,500 | 350 | 250 |
| 1986 | 2,000 | 325 | 250 |
| 1987 | 3,000 | 320 | 300 |
| 1988 | 2,600 | 275 | 275 |
| 1990 | 3,000 | 450 | 275 |
| 1992 | 3,000 | 400 | 300 |
| 1996 | 3,000 | 400 | 300 |
| 1997 | 3,000 | 400 | 300 |
| 1998 | 3,000 | 400 | 300 |
| 2000 | 4,000 | 450 | 350 |
| 2001 | 4,000 | 450 | 350 |
| 2002 | 4,000 | 450 | 350 |
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.
