By Michael Gryboski, Editor Tuesday, May 05, 2026

Southern Baptist Convention membership declined in 2025, but attendance and baptisms continued to rise, according to a newly released report.

Lifeway Research published a report on Tuesday about the Annual Church Profile (ACP) statistics, which found that SBC membership dropped by over 3% last year, going from approximately 12.72 million members in 2024 to approximately 12.33 million in 2025.

However, ACP also found that around 4.5 million people attended worship at SBC congregations, which marked an increase from the approximately 4.3 million reported in 2024.

There was a slight increase in the number of people involved in Sunday School classes and small group Bible studies, going from around 2.5 million in 2024 to over 2.6 million in 2025.

Additionally, the number of baptisms in the SBC increased by almost 5% in 2025 compared to 2024, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth and surpassing pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

The ACP reported that 263,075 people were baptized, up 4.96% from the previous year and higher than the numbers reported in the profile back in 2017.  

Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, was quoted in the Lifeway Research report as saying that he was “grateful Southern Baptists continue to show growth in key metrics like baptisms, worship attendance and Bible study participation.”

“Southern Baptist churches are focused on sharing the Gospel and making disciples, the mission we cooperate to fulfill. While many other issues vie for our attention, pastors seem more determined than ever to focus on our core mission,” Iorg continued.

In recent years, as with most Christian denominations in the U.S., the SBC has witnessed a decline in its membership and number of congregations, though it remains the largest Protestant denomination in the country.

The SBC experienced its largest membership drop in a century in 2022 when approximately 457,000 people left the denomination, dropping to approximately 13.22 million members.

Regarding the 2022 numbers, Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell stated at the time that he believed much of the decline could be attributed to recent record updates on membership.

“Much of the downward movement we are seeing in membership reflects people who stopped participating in an individual congregation years ago, and the record-keeping is finally catching up,” said McConnell back in 2023.

“Membership totals for a congregation immediately reflect additions as well as subtractions due to death or someone removing themselves from membership. But many congregations are slow to remove others who no longer are participating.”

The approximately 12.33 million members in 2025 are several million above the estimated 7 million members reported in 1950, but about 4 million fewer than the approximately 16.3 million reported in 2006.  

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/sbc-membership-down-but-baptisms-and-attendance-on-the-rise.html