Baptisms in Kentucky are on the rise, and it does not look like they are dropping anytime soon.
According to Rob Patterson, the leader of the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s Evangelism team, baptisms hit a low point in 2018 after years of steady decline. With COVID, things just got worse.
This downward trend did not continue forever. By 2023, Patterson noticed baptisms were slightly overtaking pre-pandemic levels. Although final stats for this year are not yet available, he believes the number of baptisms will be much higher than past years.
What changed?
Churches are seeing the results of faithful evangelism, Patterson noted. Churches that were regrouping after the pandemic have returned to “a Great Commission focus.”
“They’re beginning to see fruit at a higher level because that consistent faithfulness to do all they could in evangelism, all that seed sowing, is beginning to bear harvest.”
Patterson said that churches that have not baptized in years are also seeing people come to faith in Christ, and historic churches are experiencing record baptism numbers.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Brian Fritz and originally published by Kentucky Today.
