30-04-2025
SBC reports 259,000-member loss. What's new about this now-predictable trend.
There were 259,824 fewer members in the nation's largest Protestant denomination in 2024 and 30 fewer churches.
For the Southern Baptist Convention, it marks the latest in a now-predictable trend of year-over-year decline, even as new events are contributing to the losses. Amid 18 consecutive years of declining membership for the Nashville-based denomination, a still unresolved doctrinal fight about women pastors is pushing out megachurches in rapid succession and agitating a tension between size versus belief.
The newest SBC census, called the annual church profile, found total membership in 2024 at 12.7 million and total churches at 46,876, according to a report published April 30. In just a few weeks the convention will gather in Dallas for the 2025 SBC annual meeting and is expected to deliberate over convention finances and an ongoing debate about Southern Baptist doctrinal belief and convention governance.
Messengers, as voting delegates are known, have debated at recent SBC annual meetings whether to enshrine a ban on women pastors. That legislative endeavor has so far failed, but the discourse has effectively yielded the same outcome that proponents of the ban desire.
Three key megachurches — Saddleback Church in Southern California, Elevation Church in North Carolina, and NewSpring Church in South Carolina — exited the convention since in 2023. NewSpring left just a few weeks ago. All three churches consistently rank as the top 100 largest U.S. churches, according to Outreach 100, a survey administered by the SBC-affiliated Lifeway.
The recent news of NewSpring's departure revived discourse among Southern Baptists about whether it's more important for the SBC to maintain its size — a key factor in how the denomination exerts wider influence across U.S. politics and culture — versus its commitment to certain theological tenets.
Texas pastor Tom Buck said it's always disappointing when the SBC loses members, but he's also not mourning the loss of churches that don't align with the convention's doctrinal beliefs.
'I don't celebrate the numbers getting smaller. Whether the number gets smaller or if it gets larger in a sense is irrelevant to me,' Buck said in an interview. 'It's faithfulness and fidelity to what we believe is what makes us Southern Baptist.'
Buck is a leading voice among an opposition conservative faction in the SBC, which has sought to pull the convention further to the right, and championed calls to oust churches that employ women pastors.
Megachurches aren't the only casualties in this fight over women pastors and Southern Baptist governance. But the rapid succession of three important ones raises questions about their ability to ensure cohesion among a set of large and theologically diverse group of parishioners. Buck said it's not a coincidence and is a consequence of megachurches softening certain stances to appeal to a wider audience.
'Do megachurches have a tendency to be less careful about doctrine? I think the answer to that is yes. That's not the fault of the SBC,' Buck said. 'Does that mean the SBC doesn't want megachurches or would like to see us become smaller churches? No, the bottom line is what we want is theological fidelity.'
Buck's attitude is shared across the SBC, including allies in this opposition conservative faction, those who are typically Buck's opponents on certain SBC political debates, and SBC President Clint Pressley.
There are still plenty megachurches affiliated with the SBC, including ones that are known for fiercely right-wing political and theological views. There are 17 churches on the list of top 100 largest U.S. churches that are Southern Baptist.
Despite its latest losses, the SBC is still the nation's largest Protestant denomination by a longshot. Pew Research Center reported in its comprehensive Religious Landscape Study in February that 4.4% of U.S. adults are Southern Baptist, and that the next largest group is United Methodist at 2.2% of U.S. adults.
Other key takeaways from new annual church profile statistical findings:
$469.3 million drop in overall revenue to the SBC Cooperative Program, a budget that is supported by church giving and benefits various SBC ministries.
6.7% increase in average weekly attendance at Southern Baptist churches, or about 253,957 more weekly worshippers in 2024 from previous year.
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at ladams@ or on social media @liamsadams.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southern Baptist Convention reports 259,000-member loss in new census
