There will be a lot of talking in Houston, Texas this week. After all, the Bayou City is hosting the 2013 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Messengers from America’s largest Protestant denomination are expected to discuss several topics, from the Boy Scouts’ new policy admitting gay youths to a range of theological doctrines. But one unwelcome point of discussion this year has been the denomination’s decline. According to data released this week by LifeWay Research, the arm of the denomination that tracks such trends, the number of SBC-affiliated congregations grew while reported membership of those churches declined by more than 100,000. This number is down 0.7 percent from last year with primary worship attendance declining 3.1 percent to 5.97 million Sunday worshippers. Baptisms decreased by 5.5 percent over the previous year with the lowest reported number on record since 1948. “The Christian Post” reports that this year’s is the fifth dip in a row for the denomination, the “Associated Press” says the drop represents a six-year trend, and LifeWay Research claims it spans 50 years. Regardless, the denomination is failing to keep up with population growth. According to LifeWay Research, if the SBC’s membership trends continue it will hit 1960 levels by 2050. - See more at: jonathanmerritt.religionnews/2013/06/11/what-southern-baptists-must-do-to-slow-their-decline/#sthash.L3ZQWGSk.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 03:00:00 +0000
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