Southern Baptist Baptisms Rise for Fifth Straight Year as Adults Make Up Majority
New data shows a decades-long shift in who is entering the baptismal waters.
NEWS
Glorious Grace
9/21/20261 min read
More adults are entering the baptismal waters in Southern Baptist churches as the denomination reports another year of rising baptisms despite an ongoing decline in total membership.
Southern Baptist churches recorded 263,075 baptisms in 2025, according to the denomination's Annual Church Profile, compiled in cooperation with Lifeway Research. That represented an increase of nearly 5 percent from the 250,643 baptisms reported in 2024 and marked a fifth consecutive annual increase.
The numbers also reveal a notable change in the ages of those being baptized.
Lifeway Research found that adults 30 and older accounted for 33 percent of Southern Baptist baptisms, while those ages 18 to 29 made up another 20 percent, according to Religion Unplugged. Together, adults represented 53 percent of all baptisms.
Teenagers ages 12 to 17 represented 25 percent, while children accounted for the remaining 22 percent.
The age distribution is substantially different from patterns recorded decades ago. Christianity Today, citing Lifeway's analysis, reported that in 1971, children accounted for 37 percent of Southern Baptist baptisms and teenagers represented 31 percent. Adults 30 and older accounted for only 15 percent at the time.
Baptisms aren't the only area where Southern Baptist churches reported growth.
The 2025 Annual Church Profile found that average weekly in-person worship attendance increased 3.63 percent to approximately 4.46 million people. Participation in Sunday school, Bible studies, and small groups also increased, reaching approximately 2.65 million.
Overall membership, however, continued moving in the opposite direction.
Southern Baptist membership fell from approximately 12.72 million in 2024 to 12.33 million in 2025, a decline of just over 3 percent, Lifeway Research reported.
The latest figures therefore show two trends occurring simultaneously: the denomination continues to report fewer total members, while worship attendance, small-group participation, and baptisms have recently increased.
The changing age distribution also shows that baptism in Southern Baptist congregations is increasingly occurring among adults, a significant departure from the child- and teen-heavy baptism patterns recorded decades ago.
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