• Baptisms among Southern Baptist churches have numbered less than 400,000 each of the last five years, and 2005 saw the lowest total since 1993.
• LifeWay Research determined to look at churches that met the following criteria:
  • baptized at least 26 people per year for 10 consecutive years
  • had overall worship attendance growth during the same 10 years
  • had a membership-to-baptism ratio of no more than 20-to-1.
• Out of more than 43,000 churches in the SBC, 22 met the criteria based on data they reported annually.
• 19 of the 22 churches were standout churches that had several elements in common: 
  • The most common element is the essential role of the senior pastor.
    • Those interviewed describe the pastors with terms such as, “highly relational,” “personable,” “caring,” “passionate,” “humble,” “strong leader,” “a shepherd,” and “authentic.”
  • Another element are exciting and dynamic atmospheres in the church.
  • The presence of a consistent evangelistic appeal is another common factor.
    • Pastors indicate they seek to include the Gospel in most, if not all, of their sermons.
  • The pastors of these standout churches are focused on reaching people for Christ, so outreach is another common element that they share.
• While these long-term evangelistic churches share many common elements, it’s important to note they have their differences as well.
  • When it comes to preaching, one-third of the pastors indicate they preach topically.
  • Almost half are committed to expositional or textual preaching.
  • Four of the churches use other terms to describe their preaching style.
  • Another area of notable difference is the aspect of formal evangelism training.
    • Half of the churches use formal, ongoing training programs such as FAITH, while the other half is split between occasional classes and using the pulpit to train believers in evangelism.
  • The small-group strategy of the churches varies.
    • Eleven 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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