What was the fastest growing church denomination in America last year?

I was chatting to a Mormon Elder the other day, when his defence that the Mormon Corporation is from God and is the true church is because it is the fastest growing church.  Here is what I found regarding America.

1. Evangelical Christans are 26.3% of the population and represent the largest group. 
2. Catholics are a close second (23.9%).  
3. The mormons are 1.7%

As for growth.  Most mainsteam churches are currenty in decline.  In America the Episcopalian and Presbyterian Churches fit this category (Both churches grappling over the ordination of homosexuals)  

However, compare this.

• Assemblies of God 1.27% growth in 2010 .  MORMON: 1.7% 2010
• AOG: Worldwide population of 65 million members (actual converts). MORMON 14.7 million (including children as young as 8)
• AOG: 1 million members added every year MORMON: 300,000 (includes newborns)
• AOG: New converted member every 25 seconds.  MORMON: new member every 2 minutes (including children as young as 8).
• AOG: New church planted every 35 minutes, currently 362,791 MORMON: 300 a year.  Currently 29014 in 7464 branches
• AOG: 2700 full time missionaries outside America MORMON: 74900 total majority in America.
• Worldwide, the fastest growing evangelical population are Iran (19.6%) and Afghanistan (16.7%)  of course this is because they are small in number to begin with.  But proves that Mormons cannot say they have huge growth in Vanuatu for the same reason.
• AOG: Membership is fluid  MORMON: Once a member, always a member, unless excommunicated.  So if you leave the Mormon church and join the AOG then the AoG number goes up one, but the mormon number stays the same.

Check out some other useful statistics about the Mormon Corporation including stats from mormon researchers themselves at
http://www.mrm.org/fastest-growing-church

In 2011, there were 55,410 members serving full-time missions worldwide; approximately 6,000 fewer than in 2002. 

The annual percentage growth rate for membership has declined over the past decade from approximately 2.9% to 2.2%.  Annual congregational growth rates have fluctuated from a high of 1.62% to a low of 0.23%

  The number of districts worldwide has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade at slightly more than 600

SOURCE: http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2012/08/is-lds-mormon-church-growing.html

Mormons often say that whenever a stake gets high enough they can build a temple as a sign the church is expanding.  They are proud of thier temples.  They boast 170 temples worldwide.  If we just consider the AoG alone. They know that 1 Corinthians 6:19  says "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"  That means there are potentially 65 million temples in the AoG church alone.

In the end, numbers mean little.  Growth means little.  Statistics mean nothing.  If I can but bring one man alone to Jesus Christ then in that there is much rejoicing in Heaven

1 Cor 9:22  To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.

Luke 15:7  I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.

Declaration: I am not a member of the AOG church by definition of AoG policy, however as a fellow believer in the fact that I believe that Jesus is the Christ into who I am baptised, I am a member of the same body of Christ to which they, and plenty other churches belong.