Southern Baptist membership falls while baptisms rise

The Southern Baptist Convention marked its 19th consecutive year of membership decline in 2025, but attendance and baptisms notched sustained growth. The SBC membership fell by more than 3% from 2024 to 2025, according to the denomination’s Annual Church Profile survey results announced by Lifeway Research on Tuesday. SBC churches dropped from a total of 12.72 million members to 12.33 million. Last year’s SBC membership figure reached a low last seen in 1973, Lifeway Research said.

Additionally, the SBC lost 268 churches out of more than 46,000 churches. This included churches that closed along with others that remained open but were no longer affiliated with the SBC.

How much did SBC church attendance increase? Both weekly church attendance and participation in a small group Bible study or Sunday school class rose 3% in 2025. The increase marked the fourth consecutive year of attendance growth, Lifeway Research said. Baptisms also increased by nearly 5%, with more than 263,000 people baptized last year. North Carolina, California, and Florida reported the highest growth in the overall number of baptisms.

The denomination was grateful for the growth in these key metrics, said Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, in a statement. Each baptism represented a life transformed and someone who found forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ, added Kevin Ezell, president of the SBC-affiliated North American Mission Board. 

Dig deeper: Read my Roundup report on recent church attendance growth in smaller denominations.