Are you daying that most Orthodox in the US do not have an ancestral link to Orthodoxy from the old country? Please. I know many orthodox myself, since my sister-in-law is Greek Orthodox (from Greece), and, as someone perfectly at home among the Melkites, having spent years with them, I know lots of Orthodox through them, as they tend to run in similar circles. Out of this fairly sizable number of people, I personally can come up with a mere handful (including an Orthodox priest named McGillicuddy) who are converts from Catholicism or Protestantism. I don't deny they exist. You, yourself, are an example evidently. Evangelicals, in particular, are converting to Orthodoxy, primarily because of the reflexive aversion to Rome that I alluded to earlier. But the vast majority of the several million Orthodox - of all varieties - in the US are Orthodox by birth and ancestry.
But so what? I'm not arguing so much about recent developments. I'm not even arguing about developments in Russia, which is entirely Orthodox territory anyway. My point was that, historically, the Orthodox have, for various reasons, not been at the forefront of evangelization of non-Christian, hitherto unknown lands. I already gave my reasons for this.
First your talking church GROWTH now your talking about EXISTING CHURCH MEMBERS.
Children born into the church are at best replacing existing members. Our parish had a handful of baptisms and almost 3 times as many deaths this past year.
It is converts who are growing the church.
"Please. I know many orthodox myself, since my sister-in-law is Greek Orthodox (from Greece), and, as someone perfectly at home among the Melkites, having spent years with them, I know lots of Orthodox through them, as they tend to run in similar circles."
Remember when you were little and your mother warned you about running around with the wrong crowd...! :)