Baptisms Decline in Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention, one of the nation’s largest church bodies, reports a slowing number of baptisms in 2007, a trend that has persisted for three consecutive years.

The Associated Press reported, based on data provided by LifeWay Christian Resources, that Baptist baptisms fell 5.5 percent in 2007 from 364,826 in 2006 to 345, 911. The denomination had a total membership of 16,266,290, which is 40,000 less than the previous year. The peak yearly total, 445,725, occurred in 1972.

The Rev. Frank Page, the convention’s president, said that the decline likely comes because people perceive Baptists as “mean-spirited, hurtful and angry.” He voiced his concern that a denomination that focuses on conversions is fighting attrition.

“Our culture is increasingly antagonistic and sometimes adverse to a conversation about a faith in Christ,” he said to the AP. “Sometimes that's our fault because we have not always presented a winsome Christian life that would engender trust and a desire on the part of many people to engage in a conversation on the Gospel.

“All Southern Baptists should recommit to a life of loving people and ministering to people without strings attached so people will be more open to hearing the Gospel message.”

The shrinking number of baptisms in the Nashville, Tenn.-based SBC reflects a similar trend in mainline Protestant churches while nondenominational megachurches continue to see rapid growth.

David Key, director of Baptist studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, has a different take. He says Baptist parents aren’t having as many children as they used to and that evangelism hasn’t effectively targeted minorities.

“It's not just about parents not having enough children, but we also haven't adjusted our youth programs to target multicultural youth,” he told the AP. “It's still a very white Southern experience as opposed to incorporating African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians.”