By Carol Pipes NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the early weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Southern Baptist churches joined the wave of school and business closures to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. Churches shifted to online worship services, while Sunday School classes and small groups met in backyards and via Zoom. While the total impact of COVID-19 on … [Read more...]
Southern Baptists experience historic drop in membership
By Aaron Earls NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A growing number of Southern Baptist churches are home to a shrinking number of Southern Baptists. Total membership in the Southern Baptist Convention fell almost 2% to 14,525,579 from 2018 to 2019, according to the Annual Church Profile compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions. The decline of … [Read more...]
Multisite church identification shift can help strengthen SBC ties
By Aaron Earls and Carol Pipes NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southern Baptist Convention is built upon relationships between local churches, associations, state conventions and national entities. A new change to church tracking could help strengthen those relationships and provide more information to better reach communities with the gospel. A growing trend in the … [Read more...]
Waggoner reinforces Lifeway’s commitment to its mission, reports growth of online sales
By Carol Pipes BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Lifeway Christian Resources’ commitment to the mission given to the entity by Southern Baptists in 1891 has never been stronger, acting CEO Brad Waggoner said in his report to messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention in Birmingham. Despite the challenges Lifeway has faced the past year, the entity’s core ministry … [Read more...]
Hundreds watch early screening of Kendrick Brothers’ ‘Overcomer’
By Aaron Earls BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Before “Overcomer” debuts in theaters across the country on August 23, Alex and Stephen Kendrick gave audiences at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting a sneak peek of their latest film on Tuesday (June 11). In two different screenings sponsored by Lifeway Films, the filmmaking brothers shared their heart behind the … [Read more...]