Adults represented more than half of the 263,000-plus baptisms recorded in Southern Baptist Convention churches in 2025, according to a new Lifeway Research analysis.
A report released Thursday found that adults ages 30 and older accounted for 33% of SBC baptisms last year, followed by youth at 25%, children at 22% and young adults at 20%.
The figures mark a shift from earlier decades, when children — defined as those age 11 and younger — made up a larger share of baptisms. Children accounted for 37% in 1971 and 30% in 2022, while the share of young adults rose from 15% in 2022 to 20% in 2025.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, noted that minors once represented roughly two-thirds of baptisms reported annually by SBC churches.
The findings follow Lifeway Research’s release in May of the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Church Profile, which measured trends across the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
According to the ACP, SBC membership fell about 3% last year, declining from roughly 12.72 million in 2024 to about 12.33 million in 2025. Worship attendance moved in the opposite direction, rising from approximately 4.3 million in 2024 to about 4.5 million last year.
Participation in Sunday school and small-group Bible studies also grew slightly, increasing from around 2.5 million people in 2024 to more than 2.6 million in 2025.
Baptisms rose nearly 5% year over year, extending a five-year streak of increases and moving above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
SBC churches reported 263,075 baptisms in 2025, a 4.96% increase from the previous year and a total that exceeded the figure recorded in 2017.
SBC Executive President Jeff Iorg said in the report that he was “grateful Southern Baptists continue to show growth in key metrics like baptisms, worship attendance and Bible study participation.”
“Southern Baptist churches are focused on sharing the Gospel and making disciples, the mission we cooperate to fulfill,” Iorg continued. “While many other issues vie for our attention, pastors seem more determined than ever to focus on our core mission.”
