Study says Baptists losing their market share

Does anyone know (or have observed if stats are not immediately available) how some of the smaller fundamental/conservative evangelical or neo-evangelical Baptist groups are doing?

1. GARB

2. Bible Baptist Fellowship

3. Conservative Baptist

4.Baptist General Conference (now ridiculously named “Converge”)

5. North American Baptist

6. Reformed Baptist

7.Other Baptist associations/affiliations that at least believe the Gospel and claim an infallible Bible

Since a good share are heading toward non-denominational churches (which are often Baptistic in doctrine when it comes to salvation, immersion, autonomy of the local church, etc.), I am asking myself, “Are they fleeing from Baptist churches or they being drawn by non-denoms or a combination?”)

Is this a fad “Baptists are out, non-denoms are in”? IMO, Baptists are not generally moving from Baptist churches to Non-denom Bible churches (like ours — we have had movement back and forth), but to either seeker-sensitive/music oriented non-denoms or into the “New Reformed” non-denoms. Both of these later seem to be in vogue.

[Ed Vasicek]

Does anyone know (or have observed if stats are not immediately available) how some of the smaller fundamental/conservative evangelical or neo-evangelical Baptist groups are doing?

4.Baptist General Conference (now ridiculously named “Converge”)

Living in the Twin Cities, the largest Baptist churches locally (whether or not “Baptist” is in their names) are affiliated with Converge (aka the BGC). From following the statistics over the years & from observation, Converge’s attendance is growing. The website currently claims about 270,000 in overall (i.e. average) attendance. I recall that in the early 2000’s, that figure was something like 170,000 (or thereabout).

––––––––––––––—

Lifted from the website, here is a brief synopsis of their history (including the name change):

This is Our Story

The mid-19th-century Swedes who emigrated to America in pursuit of religious freedom read the Bible with a hunger that gave reality to their claim that it was Word of God, their sole authority. Theirs was a theology of “redeeming grace” that gave central place to Christ and the cross. Faith meant transformed lives as well as doctrinal truth, a commitment of heart and will as well as of intellect. They demanded a spiritually reborn clergy and membership. They believed in believer’s baptism by immersion. And they had a strong conviction about living a holy life as followers of Jesus Christ.

The Swedish Baptist General Conference

These followers of Christ earnestly reached other Swedish immigrants with the life-changing message of the gospel, and eventually organized as a fellowship of churches called the Swedish Baptist General Conference. Our early years were characterized by rapid growth and perennial revival (1875, 1880s, 1890, 1895, etc.).

The Baptist General Conference

In 1945 the Baptist General Conference became the new name of our family of churches. Due to waning Swedish immigration, English had become the predominant language used in our churches, and more and more non-Swedish churches were planted and organized. Although U.S. demographics changed, the BGC’s core values remained the same. As a missional movement, the BGC became a multiethnic, worldwide family of believers and churches: diverse, yet committed to the common mission of fulfilling Christ’s great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) for the church.

Converge

Toward the end of the 20th century, the Baptist General Conference name began to lose its cultural currency. More than a fifth of all BGC churches had been planted within the prior 15 years, and a scant few wanted to identify themselves by the name Baptist. They held to Baptist convictions, but didn’t want to spend precious time refuting stereotypes of other Baptist leaders or groups. Meanwhile, the Baptist name put valuable missionaries and their national partners at risk in several countries overseas. Converge leaders saw the need to make a change.

In 2008 the board of overseers approved a new missional name, Converge Worldwide, while retaining the historic name Baptist General Conference in some settings and for legal purposes. The Converge name captures the strategy of starting and strengthening churches through the collaboration of 11 districts, approximately 1200 Converge churches and national and international ministries.

––––––––––––––––––—

In the Twin Cities, these are some of the big Converge/BGC churches (with approx. current average attendance):

Eagle Brook Church (21,000)

Wooddale Church (5,500 - 6,000)

Bethlehem Baptist Church (4,500)

Westwood Community Church (3,800)

Berean Baptist Church (2,500)

“Sambo’s is a restaurant, formerly an American restaurant chain, started in 1957 by Sam Battistone, Sr. and Newell Bohnett. Though the name was taken from portions of the names of its founders, the chain soon found itself associated with The Story of Little Black Sambo. Battistone, Sr. and Bohnett capitalized on the connection by decorating the walls of the restaurants with scenes from the book, including a dark-skinned boy, tigers, and a pale, magical unicycle-riding man called “The Treefriend”. By the early 1960s, the illustrations depicted a light-skinned boy wearing a jeweled Indian-style turban with the tigers. A kids club, Sambo’s Tiger Tamers (later called the Tiger Club), promoted the chain’s family image.

By 1979, Sambo’s had 1,117 outlets in 47 American states. However, in the late 1970s, controversy over the chain’s name drew protests and lawsuits in communities that viewed the term Sambo as pejorative towards African-Americans, particularly in the Northeastern states.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo’s

Sometimes a particular name/word, regardless of origin, intent, or history, can (rightly or wrongly) acquire a degree of toxicity that can repel people.

Having said that, my church has “Baptist” in its name. To my knowledge, nobody within the church has suggested that we delete it.