Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has fallen for the 18th consecutive year, with total membership now at 12,722,266—the lowest reported since 1974—according to new data released April 30.
Despite the decline, the SBC recorded more baptisms in 2024 than in any year since 2017, marking the fourth straight year of growth in baptisms and signaling renewed momentum in evangelism and outreach.
Lifeway Research, which compiles the SBC’s Annual Church Profile (ACP) in cooperation with Baptist state conventions, reported a 2 percent drop in membership from 2023 to 2024. That equates to a net loss of 259,824 members. The latest figures follow a 1.8 percent decline the previous year and 2.9 percent drops in each of the two years prior.
“The largest portion of membership declines come from churches acknowledging that certain members are gone for good and removing their names. Other drops come from churches that close or leave the Convention,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.
“Newcomers to the entrances of churches definitely help, but membership will continue to decline as long as the exits remain active.”
Even so, SBC congregations reported 250,643 baptisms during the 2024 reporting period—a 10 percent increase over the previous year and the most recorded since 2017.
“Growth in baptisms continues to exceed trendlines before the pandemic,” McConnell said. “The slow return of pre-COVID worship attendees is largely over. Churches’ new attendees are now mostly new believers and those transferring from other churches.”
The findings show four consecutive years of growth in baptisms for the first time since the late 1980s into the early 1990s. It also means baptism levels have moved away from the Covid pandemic levels and the 2024 numbers also beat the last pre-pandemic year, 2019. SBC churches added 173,156 “other new members”—similar to pre-pandemic numbers.
“We celebrate every baptism and every new life in Christ. It’s encouraging to see these numbers continue to move upward,” said Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board.
“I’m grateful for all the pastors who are keeping evangelism at the center of their mission and for what they are doing to encourage new believers to make a public profession of faith through baptism. As Southern Baptists stay focused on the gospel and are faithful to share it, I know we will see God work and these numbers will continue to rise.”
The research also showed SBC congregations enjoying a boost in worship attendance at meetings, and in the participation of small groups or Sunday schools. 2024 figures show a 5 percent increase in attendance compared to 2023, with 4.3 million people worshipping each week in a SBC congregation and 2.5 million taking part in small group Bible studies held on a weekly basis.
“Southern Baptists love to focus on evangelism, and these ACP numbers back that up,” said Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee. “We rejoice that God is using Southern Baptist churches to reach people with the gospel. We celebrate the upward trends in baptisms that we haven’t seen in the past 30 years. These ACP results help us see that God is at work among Southern Baptists.”
The total number of churches affiliated with the SBC also declined slightly, from 46,906 in 2023 to 46,876 in 2024—a net loss of 30 congregations. Lifeway noted that this figure includes both churches that closed and those that disaffiliated from the Convention. The number of church-type missions also dropped, from 2,474 to 2,321.
While long-term membership challenges remain, SBC leaders are drawing hope from renewed signs of spiritual vitality.
“We celebrate every life changed by the gospel,” Ezell said. “And we believe that as we stay faithful, those numbers will keep growing.”
