SBC baptisms down amid other growth

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SBC baptisms down amid other growth
By Russ Rankin
Apr 17, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--While the number of Southern Baptist churches in 2006 increased by 524 and reported more than $11.3 billion in total receipts, LifeWay Christian Resources President Thom S. Rainer reported April 17 that total baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention fell for the second consecutive year.

According to the Annual Church Profile gathered by LifeWay, baptisms last year dropped from 371,850 to 364,826, or 1.89 percent, eclipsing 2005 as the lowest annual total since 1993. The 2005 ACP reported a 4.15 percent drop.

"While it is certainly encouraging to see new Southern Baptist churches being birthed, our baptism totals once again show that we are not doing an effective job stepping up to the task of sharing the Gospel with a lost and dying world," Rainer said.

"As a nation and a people we are blessed with enormous financial resources and gifts, and our churches reflect that," he added. "How blessed we would be if our churches adopted that same fire and fervor for evangelism."

The 2006 ACP shows growth in several areas. Total membership of Southern Baptist churches increased slightly to reach 16,306,246 members. The net increase of 524 churches, more than double the net increase from 2005 -- for a total of 44,223 -- represents a 1.2 percent boost for 2006. In the 2005 ACP, there was a net increase of 234 churches.

Primary worship attendance rose to 6,138,776, reflecting a 1.43 percentage growth. Church-type missions -- defined in the ACP as "a body of baptized believers having a distinct identity that meets regularly for worship, engages in Bible study and evangelism, and provides opportunity for stewardship and fellowship, but has not yet constituted as a church" -- was the largest percentage increase in 2006, up 2.06 percent.

Rainer pointed out that numeric/percent changes for certain categories could not be accurately figured for the 2006 ACP, as some state conventions or associations did not ask for some items to be reported, or asked in a way that gave results that were not comparable to totals reported in the 2005 ACP.

The impacted categories and their 2006 totals include:

Total receipts: $11,372,608,393

Total tithes, offerings and special gifts: $10,425,420,529

Undesignated receipts: $8,293,404,321

Total mission expenditures: $1,285,616,031

Sunday School enrollment: 7,931,753

Discipleship training enrollment: 1,503,826

Music ministry enrollment and participation: 1,503,826

WMU enrollment: 811,139

Men/boys mission education enrollment: 376,379

"Southern Baptists are a people committed to the Gospel," Rainer said. "Missions and evangelism have always been our rallying cry. Churches should view this report as a commendation, but also as a sobering reminder that there is much more that we need to be doing. Our mandate to share the Good News of Jesus Christ remains our focus, but as a convention we must renew our passion for reaching the burgeoning masses in our states, cities and neighborhoods."

 

Nickels and noses are easy to measure but spiritual maturity can usually be seen in numbers over a long period of time. It is the mature who make disciples and love people.

It is possible that the reasons why baptisms are on a decline is that pastors are more ethical and will not rebaptize people as some have done for up to five times. The SBC did a study several years ago in an association in Texas and found out that some pastors were baptizing the same people up to five times.

 

We do know that there are people carried on more than one membership list. People have moved away and gone to another church which may not be SBC and have never been removed from the rolls.

 

It is impossible to do much work when you are fighting.

The SBC is spending much of its time biting and devouring one another all in the name of Jesus to its shame.

Gal. 5:15, "But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. "

John 12:24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

 

I get the impression that Frank Page is a humble man. Scripture talks a lot about what happens to humble people and what happens to proud people. I believe God is giving warnings to the SBC and if they heed them, things will work out good. If they allow sin in the camp to persist then they will get that reward too.

I believe that for too long the SBC has been about promoting itself and its image rather than glorifying God. How many times have we hard the idea about if we get the right man things will turn around. An organization can have the right man and refuse to be led. It can also have the right people and wrong leadership. How about having the right God? If one looks at a number of the Baptist universities and seminaries, people who have given large sums of money were honored with a plaque posted on a wall with their picture and/or newspaper coverage. I see no place in scripture where that is commended. In fact the only person I see commended for giving was the lady who gave her last amount of money.