The unhealthy information for Southern Baptists is that the denomination, the nation's largest Protestant group, shrank in 2023, with a decline of a few quarter of 1,000,000 individuals.
The excellent news, based on the Southern Baptist Conference's annual statistical report, is that the decline has slowed since 2022. Furthermore, of those that remained, extra went to church and extra newcomers dared to be baptized.
The SBC's 2024 Annual Church Profile, launched Tuesday, confirmed membership had fallen to 12.9 million members, the bottom because the late Seventies. Membership, which peaked at 16.3 million in 2006, has been in decline since then, dropping almost 3.5 million members in whole. Roughly half of that whole loss has come since 2018.
Weekly church attendance rebounded after the Covid-19 pandemic to exceed 4 million per week, whereas small group attendance was about 2.5 million. Giving from the denomination's 46,000 church buildings additionally remained robust, surpassing $10 billion and offering almost $800 million to SBC nationwide and worldwide ministries.
SBC church buildings additionally reported 226,000 baptisms, a key evangelism statistic that Southern Baptists love. In 2023, about 175,000 new individuals joined SBC congregations.
Church buildings in Florida, Georgia, California, North Carolina and Tennessee reported the most important will increase in baptisms from 2022 to 2023.
Todd Unzicker, govt director and treasurer of the North Carolina Baptist State Conference, mentioned church buildings in his state have centered on growing baptisms via coaching and a “fill the tank” initiative, which calls on congregations to fill their baptismal tanks in weeks. earlier than Easter. He mentioned that whereas many church buildings typically need to see extra individuals baptized, few are able to baptize them.
“After I visited church buildings, many of the baptisteries have been filled with Christmas decorations, packing containers and provides,” he mentioned. “And I all the time thought that if the Lord moved, they weren't even prepared.
“Whereas we regularly deal with our shortcomings, it's additionally good to pause and rejoice the worldwide good Southern Baptists are engaging in,” mentioned Jeff Iorg, president-elect of the SBC govt committee. Iorg, the longtime president of Gateway Seminary in Northern California, was named head of the SBC's govt committee in March.
Bart Barber, a Texas pastor and present president of the denomination, referred to as the information encouraging. Barber mentioned if church membership elevated with out a rise in attendance or baptisms, he can be involved. Barber added that membership numbers can typically be much less correct than baptisms or church attendance.
“The numbers which might be on the high are the numbers that I'm following,” Barber advised Faith Information Service. “We all know who got here to our Sunday college. We all know who got here to our small group Bible research. And we're good at counting baptisms. We've taken individuals via the method and dipped them in water and we all know their names.” We will affiliate every of those numbers with a person particular person.”
Maybe most regarding are information associated to sexual abuse, a problem SBC leaders have struggled to successfully deal with.
Along with membership, baptisms, and awarding numbers, 29 of the SBC's 41 state conventions additionally accumulate information on how their church buildings deal with abuse. Lower than two-thirds (58%) of church buildings in these states mentioned they require workers and volunteers who work with kids to have background checks. Lower than half (38%) mentioned their workers and volunteers have been skilled in the way to report abuse, whereas lower than 1 / 4 (16%) have been skilled in the way to take care of abuse survivors.
Barber mentioned these numbers, particularly the share of background checks, are usually not stunning. The common SBC congregation, comparatively small and infrequently in a rural setting, can hardly ever afford to assist a full-time pastor or the workers, volunteers, and insurance policies wanted to forestall abuse. These church buildings, the SBC president mentioned, typically have well-loved volunteers working with kids and assume they’re proof against abuse.
“However that's improper,” Barber mentioned. “Abuse additionally occurs in rural church buildings. You will need to assist such church buildings perceive that they have to take these measures.”
The SBC's two-year-old job power on implementing abuse reform hopes to have new coaching materials for church buildings, together with coverage pointers, prepared for launch at this 12 months's annual assembly in Indianapolis in June.
Some states have requested church buildings about their sexual abuse prevention insurance policies previously, however that is the primary time these questions have been included within the nation's annual church profile.
Bruce Frank, a North Carolina pastor operating for SBC president, mentioned extra information might be wanted earlier than leaders know whether or not the conference is making progress on reform. However Frank, who served on a earlier job power set as much as assist examine abuse, mentioned the background checks are a crucial a part of making church buildings safer.
“For anybody who works with kids and college students, the fundamental requirement for security on the grassroots degree is to have the church within the background,” he mentioned. “It's a lot simpler and quicker than ever earlier than. We wish everybody to make use of it to maintain their ministries protected and safe.”
SBC leaders have lengthy inspired church buildings to conduct background checks on volunteers and staff, and the denomination handed a collection of reforms in 2022 geared toward addressing sexual abuse. However these reforms, together with a ministry web site that lists abusive pastors and leaders, have largely stalled. No names have been added to the comptroller's web site and there’s no everlasting plan to fund abuse reform. A brand new non-profit group set as much as oversee the reforms has acquired little funding assist.
© Non secular Intelligence Service
