April 23, 2001

SBC membership grows, but pace
of growth slows as baptisms take dip
___NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Membership growth in the Southern Baptist Convention continued to slow last year, and baptisms nationwide dipped slightly.
___After posting consecutive years of growth in membership and other key statistics while mainline Protestant denominations slipped in numbers, the SBC within the last three years has begun to experience a sluggish spot of its own--although to a much smaller degree.
___Conservatives who captured control of the SBC's leadership in the 1980s and '90s often have pointed to SBC growth bucking national trends as a sign of God's blessing on their cause. Turning the convention in a more conservative direction was necessary, they explained, to prevent the SBC from sliding into the same decline as the mainline denominations.
___The results of 2000 statistics, compiled from data submitted by churches through the Annual Church Profile, present a mixed picture for the SBC, however.
___Total membership in SBC-affiliated churches grew last year by 0.68 percent. That's a lower rate of growth than the 0.78 percent gain made the year before. The year before that, 1998, was the first time in 72 years the SBC had posted a decrease in membership.
___Total membership for 2000 was 15,960,308.
___Baptisms, often viewed as a key measure of evangelistic effectiveness, actually declined last year, dropping from 419,342 to 414,657. The difference of 4,685 baptisms represents a 1.2 percent dip.
___SBC baptisms had decreased by a similar amount in 1998, but rebounded in 1999. The 2000 baptism total, though down for the year, still was higher than the total for 1997 or 1998.
___The brightest spot in the SBC's statistical report for 2000 was in finances.
___Total tithes and offerings and special gifts given through SBC churches were $7.79 billion, a 7.37 percent increase. Of that amount, undesignated receipts totaled $5.98 billion, an increase of 6.67 percent.
___Other key indicators showed mainly modest gains or slight decreases:
___ Sunday School enrollment increased by 38,958 or 0.48 percent to a total of 8,186,415. This came on the heels of a 0.01 percent decrease in 1999.
___ Discipleship Training gained 232,118 participants, an 11.75 percent increase, for a total of 2,208,427.
___ Missions education programs for boys and men gained 9.52 percent or 42,353 for a total of 487,410.
___ Sunday morning average worship attendance increased 2.33 percent, from 5,418,348 in 1999 to 5,544,439 in 2000.
___ Music ministry enrollment/participation declined by 12,072 or 0.72 percent to a total of 1,654,877.
___ Woman's Missionary Union enrollment declined by 17,370 or 1.91 percent to 892,157.

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