Fewer people identify as Southern Baptists, and fewer churches are affiliated with the Nashville-based denomination, according to data released by Lifeway Research Wednesday.
While the SBC is on an 18-year trend of declining membership, the denomination made gains in other areas.
The SBC baptized more people last year than it has in the past seven. Its congregations saw growth in the number of people attending church weekly and participating in small group Bible studies.
But churches and congregants are still leaving the nation’s largest Protestant mainline denomination, amid debate on the role of women in ministry. Last year, the denomination narrowly rejected a proposal to enshrine a ban on women serving as pastors, as the SBC already has rules limiting the office of pastor to men.
NewSpring megachurch in South Carolina left the denomination last month after the SBC Credentialing Committee questioned the leadership role of one of the church’s female staffers.
“This decision is not about disagreement with the SBC’s core commitments but about preserving unity in the body of Christ,” NewSpring wrote. “We don’t want our affiliation to distract from the Great Commission or cause division in churches preaching the Gospel.”
In just a few weeks, the SBC will converge in Dallas for its annual meeting, where church leadership could take up the issue, along with budget discussions. The denomination saw a nearly $470 million loss last year in church giving.
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