Illinois Baptist Online all the time IllinoisBaptist.org
IB
Keeping students connected My lessons from lockdown P. 13
Churches reopen
Saving summer ministry
(with limits)
P. 16
P. 3
Lift every voice
MISSION
SPECIAL REPORT: How the church is speaking up P. 7-9 PLUS: Chicagoland pastors on the front lines News journal of the Illinois Baptist State Association
BY THE NUMBERS
JULY 1, 2020
in focus
Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Peoria, Illinois Permit No. 325
Vol. 114 No. 9
SBC shrinks Churches report historic membership drop in 2019
Are our freedoms fading? What concerns over the pandemic shutdown are showing us
P. 10
PLUS: Gay rights ruling’s impact on churches P. 11 IBSA’s abortion coverage lawsuit filed P. 12
Nashville, Tenn. | The Southern Baptist Convention has reported its largest decrease in membership in more than a century, and its lowest baptism total since World War 2. The declines, reported in the 2019 Annual Church Profile (ACP) released in June, follow downward trends over the last several years, but, in terms of membership, represent a historically steep drop. Total membership in the SBC fell almost 2% from 2018 to 2019. The decline of 287,655 members is the largest single-year drop in more than 100 years. Baptisms fell by more than 4%. In 2019, there was one baptism for every 62 Southern Baptists. P. 4