ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP, TAB) — A national task force aimed at addressing a continued decrease in baptisms among Southern Baptist churches will release its full report later today.
The task force, convened in 2013 by the North American Mission Board, is comprised mostly of pastors.
The group was formed, in part, because the 2012 Annual Church Profile reported a 5.52 percent drop in the number of baptisms in Southern Baptist churches, confirming a two-decade downward trend.
The report states: “SBC [Southern Baptist Convention] baptisms reached a plateau in the 1950s, peaked in the 1970s and have stayed fairly constant since that time … The problem is even greater than these numbers indicate. Considering how the North American population has increased substantially between the 1950s’ baptism peak and today, these figures indicate how much ground we have lost and are losing.”
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To read more, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org.