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Does the future growth of the SBC depend on non-anglo congregations?

December 10, 2020 by William Thornton

For many reasons it appears so, and has for some time.

Check the graph recently compiled by the SBC Executive Committee comparing various congregation types over the 1990-2018 period. You may find this and other data in Ronnie Floyd’s recent excellent and informative article: A statistical analysis of growth in SBC congregations by race and ethnicity from 1990-2018. 

To wit:

Compare anglo growth, around 11 percent over the period, to non-anglo growth (African American + Hispanic + Asian American + Other ethnic) whose growth rate was over 30 percent.

Anglo churches still make up about 80 percent of all congregations and 90 percent of membership while African-American churches show the largest growth rate.

The Grand Old SBC is still a heavily anglo convention. We have some challenges ahead and it is only sensible to recognize that the energy and growth is clearly non-anglo. The United States is projected to be a “majority-minority” nation (white, non-hispanic population) sometime between 2040 and 2050.

This isn’t the SBC of the 1950s.

________________

I would offer a more readable graph but technical challenges overwhelm this old codger. The underlying SBCnet article has several relevant tables and graphs. Check them out.

Gig me, if you wish, for using the word “growth” in the title. The SBC is not a growing convention.

The last time (about a year ago) I wrote on the general subject I was criticized for even bringing up the matter of race in the SBC. I like ostriches but only in a zoo or the wilds of Africa.

 

 

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About William Thornton

William Thornton is a lifelong Southern Baptist and semi-retired pastor who served churches in South Carolina and Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia. You may find him occasionally on Twitter @wmgthornton.

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