Baptist Convention Gains Membership
After posting its first membership loss since 1926, the Southern Baptist Convention has reported an increase of 122,400 for 1999. The new membership figure--15,851,756--remains a bit below the 1997 total.
The convention is America’s largest Protestant body and a bellwether for conservative Protestant trends.
The denomination said the 419,342 baptisms for 1999 exceeded 1998 and 1997 totals. Sunday School enrollment was down 482 for the year, to 8,147,457. Total giving rose 5.4%, to $7.3 billion.
The denomination faces continued tension from those dissatisfied with its rightward direction. This week the 800-member First Baptist Church of Athens, Ga., part of the denomination since its 1845 founding, voted to leave.
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