2005 ACP: Florida Baptists experience decline

JACKSONVILLE (FBC) – With 270 churches not reporting, recently compiled statistics for the Florida Baptist Convention show a slight decrease in total and resident church membership in 2005. Declines also were reported in the number of churches and church-type missions.

According to the Annual Church Profile (ACP) information gathered by the Convention, total membership of Florida Baptist churches dropped by one percent to 1,044,831 in 2005 from 1,055,976 in 2004, a net loss of 11,145 members.

Resident membership dropped by 1.3 percent to 790,170 from 801,021 for a net loss of 10,851 members.

The combined number of churches and church-type missions decreased by 52 congregations, to 2,744 in 2005 from 2,796 in 2004.

Convention officials are concerned that 270 churches did not send in an ACP. Only 68 percent of the churches in the Palm Lake Association and 71 percent of the churches in the Ridge Association completed the annual statistical form. Other associations with less than a 90 percent completion rate were Beulah, Brevard, Greater Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, Pasco, Peace River and Sumter associations.

“This cannot help but affect our overall statistics,” said Lonnie Wright, director of the Convention’s Information Support Services. “We must do a better job in convincing our churches of the necessity of turning in their ACPs.”

Wright called the decrease in membership a “course correction” for many churches. “We have discovered that many congregations last year cleaned up their rolls. Several purchased new membership computer programs and used that opportunity to delete members they could not find.”

“I think what we have now is a more realistic assessment of our membership. And the churches should be applauded for being conscientious about maintaining accurate records.”

Studying the losses, Wright found that 853 churches showed a decrease in membership totaling 53,853; another 1,231 showed increases totaling 43,532 members. “That shows you where the net loss can be found,” added Wright.

And while many suspected that Florida’s unusual hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 could have affected those losses, the churches with significant decreases are located across the state, not just in the hardest hit areas.

The drop in number of churches and church-type missions could also be attributed to better record keeping, said Wright. “The convention made a concerted effort in 2005 to locate many of the churches which had been started in recent years to ensure that they were still functioning as Southern Baptist churches.”

In 2005 Florida Baptist churches baptized 35,363 new Christians, a total that includes 3,237 persons baptized by mission churches affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Fellowship of Haiti, which is financially supported by the Florida Convention. The Haitian churches’ inclusion is based upon action taken last year by the State Board of Missions to permit the combining of the two baptism numbers.

Without the enhancement of the Haitian baptisms, however, the number among Florida Baptist churches would have declined by nearly seven percent to 32,126 in 2005 from 34,534 in 2004.

Statistics for the Southern Baptist Convention mirrored those in Florida, showing that baptisms – which rebounded in 2004 after a four-year decline – slumped again in 2005.

According to ACP information gathered by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, baptisms last year dropped from 387,947 to 371,850, or -4.15 percent.

“Southern Baptists should view this report as a wake-up call,” said Thom Rainer, LifeWay President and CEO, noting that the totals for baptisms dropped to the lowest since 1993. “We must focus our efforts, prayers, and resources on reaching people for Christ. Baptism is the outward act of obedience that pictures God’s work of redemption in a believer’s life, and so for Southern Baptists the ACP figures indicate we are faltering in our efforts to reach a lost world.”

There was growth in some areas nationally, however. The ACP showed a net increase of 234 churches established in 2005 for a total of 43,699, up from 43,465 in 2004.

Total membership increased slightly to reach 16,270,315, and total receipts and missions expenditures were up.

Other key areas that saw decreased enrollment were Sunday school (8,068,780 – down 137,660), men and boys mission education (388,264 – down 34,943), and WMU enrollment (804,983 – down 162,848).

The totals for several categories were impacted by the fact that 33 associations in Texas did not ask all of the 2005 ACP questions. This impacted discipleship training, music ministry, WMU, men/boys mission education, total gifts, and value of congregational property.

Rainer also pointed out that the impact of the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast in 2005 is not fully known. While the state conventions involved made efforts to minimize the impact on reporting and statistics, three of the state conventions in the affected area – Florida, Mississippi, and the Baptist General Convention of Texas – reported a loss in total membership, and two – Alabama and Louisiana – reported slight gains.

Total offering receipts were up $550,347,520 to more than $10.72 billion, Rainer reported. Total mission expenditures increased 2.82 percent, Rainer pointed out, bringing receipts to $1.23 billion.

“Last year was a difficult year for Southern Baptists and the communities where they minister,” Rainer said. “While natural disasters dominated the headlines, relief and rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast and Southeast Asia captivated the hearts of our churches. Southern Baptists have been blessed with bountiful resources and in 2005 we saw the church respond in unprecedented ways both home and abroad.”

[Additional reporting by Russ Rankin, LifeWay Christian Resources]