https://youtu.be/2Oi5sB3jvAo The Southern Baptist Convention is experiencing a decline in the scope and scale that is unprecedented in American church history. As the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., the declines in the SBC are noteworthy for many reasons. Ryan Burge joins Thom and Sam on this special episode to discuss what's happening and what the future may hold for the SBC. Membership peaked in 2006 at over 16 million, but today membership is around 13 million, where it stood in 1978. The rate of membership decline has increased, especially in the last three years. The decline in attendance is equally astounding at almost 40%, from a peak of 6.2 million in 2009 to around 3.8 million today. The warning shot from 2005: "A Resurgence Not Yet Realized" Baptisms peaked in 1972 (with fewer members) and have declined by 60% (445k in 1972 compared with 180k in 2022). What got us here? Fights, factions, scandals, and an archaic system of funding. Another big factor is demographics. The SBC became dependent upon its constituency increasing its population size. The opposite took place. What does the future hold? Likely more of the same. The SBC is like a slowly deflating balloon. Every controversy acts as another pinhole, releasing more air. Due to its size, the SBC will not disappear overnight, but it's unlikely the denomination will ever return to its former size. Resources: Tithe.ly 2023 State of Church Giving Ryan Burge “The 2022 Data on the Southern Baptist Convention is Out” by Ryan Burge * The Hope Initiative * Get your FREE tool! Attendance Growth Projector Episode Sponsors: Tithely provides churches around the world with software tools to help them and their ministries thrive. Nearly 40,000 churches use Tithely for online and text giving, managing their people’s information, volunteer management, child check in, church apps and websites, and communicating through email and text messaging. Made up of a team of ministry-minded people, Tithely’s heart is to see the local church empowered with the tools to fulfill their mission. You can sign up for free at Tithely.com - yes that's right, it's free! Tithely's giving platform comes with no monthly fees and no contracts. Get started taking donations in just 5 minutes at Tithely.com. Also, right now Tithely is offering a free report called “2023 State of Church Giving Report.” You can access that report free by clicking on the link in the show notes.