– Advertisement –

Southern Baptists See 12th Year of Declining Membership

by | May 24, 2019 | News, The Church | 0 comments

✪ Read this article ad-free and leave comments here on Substack

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation’s largest Protestant denomination reported its twelfth year of declining membership in an annual report released Thursday.

The Southern Baptist Convention said it had 14.8 million members in 2018, down about 192,000 from the previous year. Baptisms also declined by about 7,600 to 246,442. That’s an important measure for a denomination with a strong commitment to evangelism.

The SBC’s membership peaked at 16.3 million in 2006. Its giving has continued to grow, however, with its churches collecting $11.8 billion last year.

Ed Stetzer is a professor at Wheaton College who presided over the SBC’s annual church profile reporting for many years.

Join Us and Get These Perks:

✅ No Ads in Articles
✅ Access to Comments and Discussions
✅ Community Chats
✅ Full Article and Podcast Archive
✅ The Joy of Supporting Our Work 😉



“There are more evangelicals in the U.S. today than 10 years ago, yet there are less Southern Baptists,” Stetzer said. “Part of that is demographic … and part is, at the end of the day, they have a real challenge with their own reputation.”

The Southern Baptist Convention regularly makes headlines over controversial partisan issues. At their annual meeting last year, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a campaign-style speech that left some members calling for an end to the practice of inviting politicians to speak.

At the previous year’s meeting, denomination officials caused a brief uproar when they refused to introduce a resolution denouncing the “alt-right” white nationalist movement. A similar resolution was adopted the following day, and the resolutions committee chair apologized, saying members had been concerned about potentially giving the appearance of hating their enemies.

Read More >>

Three Ways to Support DISNTR


The Dissenter is primarily supported by its readers. The best way to support us is to subscribe to our members-only Substack site where you will receive all of our content ad-free, plus you will get member-only exclusive content.

Support us with a monthly donation on Patreon

Support us with membership to our ad-free Substack

Make one-time or monthly donation on Donorbox


👕 Or make a purchase from our online store. 👕
Make a Dogecoin Donation

- Advertisement -

Latest

The Moral Collapse of America and God’s Looming Judgment

The Moral Collapse of America and God’s Looming Judgment

Rome had a strange smell near the end of its empire. Historians don’t really talk about that part. They write about military campaigns and collapsing currencies and corrupt emperors with grapes hanging from their fingers while boys danced in silk before them. But I...

- Advertisement -

Subscribe

Store

Follow Us

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -

You Might Also Like…

God’s Wrath vs. The Modern Preacher™

God’s Wrath vs. The Modern Preacher™

There is something deeply unsettling about watching a man stand on a stage with a Bible in his hand, speaking with the cadence of a preacher while slowly dissolving the very attributes of God that make the gospel necessary in the first place. Not in one violent motion...

The Moral Collapse of America and God’s Looming Judgment

The Moral Collapse of America and God’s Looming Judgment

Rome had a strange smell near the end of its empire. Historians don’t really talk about that part. They write about military campaigns and collapsing currencies and corrupt emperors with grapes hanging from their fingers while boys danced in silk before them. But I...

Parents Handing Their Children Over to Drag Queens is Despicable

Parents Handing Their Children Over to Drag Queens is Despicable

These ... clowns. Literal clowns. Some dude, draped in cheap polyester sequins and a wig that reeks of desperation, sits there. He’s playing pretend with kids. He’s wearing a caricature of womanhood like a skin suit, and he’s doing it in front of a child.“Do I look...

This is What Happens When a Charlatan is Your Spiritual Advisor

This is What Happens When a Charlatan is Your Spiritual Advisor

Over Easter—of all times—spiritual charlatan, Paula White, stood in front of cameras and compared Donald Trump to Christ. Not subtly. Not loosely. Directly. She took the betrayal, the suffering, the cost, the language that belongs to the cross alone—and laid it at the...

- Advertisement -

Want to go ad-free with exclusive content? Subscribe today.
Already a subscriber? Click Here

This will close in 0 seconds

Three Ways to Support DISNTR



The Dissenter is primarily supported by its readers. The best way to support us is to subscribe to our members-only Substack site where you will receive all of our content ad-free, plus you will get member-only exclusive content.

 

Support us with a monthly donation on Patreon

Support us with membership to our ad-free Substack

Make one-time or monthly donation on Donorbox


👕 Or make a purchase from our online store. 👕

This will close in 0 seconds