• A LifeWay Research study found only 22 out of 43,000 SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) churches met the criteria of baptizing at least 26 people per year, overall attendance growth and a membership-to-baptism ratio of no more than 20 to 1 over the last 10 years.
• Researchers at LifeWay found the churches that are growing have pastors who prioritize evangelism as the most important.
  • The pastors of the top churches were described as "highly relational," "personable," "caring," "passionate," "humble," “strong leader,” “a shepherd,” and “very authentic.” according to the study.
• The study further noted that the average tenure of the pastors is 15 years.
• Another common element is the overall atmosphere of the church.
  • These churches were described as "exciting," “dynamic,” “energetic,” “upbeat,” “friendly,” “welcoming,” “warm,” and “positive.”  
• Across the 22 churches, pastors also stress the importance of preaching the gospel and providing opportunities for lost people to respond.
  • More than two-thirds say they make an altar call at the end of every service while others have people fill out a decision card.
• Pastors are generally intentional in outreach.
  • Most of the churches have frequent visitation or follow-up strategy.
  • Pastors and staff fill up the church calendar with events designed, at least in part, to reach people for Christ.
• One-third of the pastors indicate they preach topically and almost half use expositional or textual preaching.
• Most pastors say their worship style is "contemporary," "informal," and "casual."
  • Others say theirs is blended in terms of music and only one pastor described his church's worship as "traditional."
  • Four of the churches consider their worship services to be “seeker- driven” or “seeker-targeted."
• When it comes to evangelism training, half the churches use formal training programs such as FAITH.
• Eleven churches use on-campus Sunday school as their primary fellowship groups, while six meet in off-campus small groups, and two have a mix of on and off-campus groups.

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