Study: What Standout, Growing Churches Have in Common

Amid critical reports of churches becoming less effective in evangelism, LifeWay Research measured some of the top Southern Baptist churches that meet the evangelism criteria.

The new 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.

Most common among the standout churches is the role of the senior pastor. While a study earlier this month by Ellison Research found that 39 percent of American pastors are not highly interested in expanding outreach programs, researchers at LifeWay found the churches that are growing have pastors who prioritize evangelism as the most important. And the pastor strongly sets the tone of the church.

"These pastors do more than stress the importance of evangelism, they lead by example as they are personally passionate about and involved in sharing Christ both from the pulpit and through personal interaction with the unchurched and lost,” said Brad Waggoner, director of LifeWay Research, in the report.

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