As baptisms in Southern Baptist congregations increase, a growing percentage of those entering the baptismal pools are adults.
In the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Church Profile (ACP), baptisms grew for the fifth straight year to reach 263,075, the highest total since 2016. This was the first time in 75 years that the SBC saw five consecutive years of growth in total baptisms. Within this growth, the age distribution of those being baptized is also changing.
‘Dramatic’ change
According to additional Lifeway Research analysis of the 2025 ACP, adults 30 and older accounted for a third (33%) of all baptisms, the largest share among the four age groups.
“Over the last half century, the age of those being baptized in Southern Baptist congregations has changed dramatically,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Minors used to compose two-thirds of baptisms, but today the majority are age 18 or over.”
In 1971, children 11 and younger accounted for the highest percentage (37%), followed by youth aged 12 to 17 (31%), young adults aged 18 to 29 (18%) and adults 30 and older (15%).
Since then, however, the share of those being baptized who are adults in Southern Baptist congregations has continued to climb, first passing young adults in 1985, youth in 1990 and children in 2014.
In 2025, 33% of baptisms in Southern Baptist congregations were adults, 25% were youth, 22% were children and 20% were young adults.
The share of baptisms among those 11 and younger has declined dramatically in the past few years, dropping from 30% in 2022 to 22% in 2025. The largest gains during those times were among young adults, climbing from 15% to 20%, and adults, whose share grew from 31% to 33%. Youth were static at 25 percent.
“The sharp declines in the number of children and youth being baptized in Southern Baptist congregations coincide with declines in those populations in America. There are fewer and fewer children within churches and in their communities to reach,” McConnell said. “While statistically there are far fewer children in most communities, there are still large numbers who need to hear the Gospel through local churches.”
Raw numbers
In terms of raw numbers for 2025, adults account for 86,448 baptisms, compared to 51,615 for young adults, 65,825 for youth and 59,187 for children. This is the highest number of adults baptized since 2015, young adults since 2012 and youth since 2016.
The number of children baptized in Southern Baptist churches in 2025, however, is the fourth lowest number recorded, trailing only the three pandemic years of 2020-2022.
Some demographic realities have likely contributed to the decline in the share of children’s baptisms. Over the past 15 years, the populations of other age groups have increased, while the number of U.S. children younger than 12 has fallen to its lowest level during that period.
According to population estimates, the number of children has declined by more than 2 million since 2011, from almost 48.8 million to 46.5 million. Meanwhile, the number of youth has increased by around 400,000, the number of young adults by almost 3 million, and the number of adults over 30 by close to 30 million.
In 2025, Southern Baptist congregations baptized 5.66 children per 1,000 people in that population range in the U.S. That’s the largest number by far among the age demographics. The SBC saw 2.32 baptisms per 1,000 youth, 1.19 per 1,000 young adults and 0.24 baptisms per 1,000 adults.
“Across the last five decades of population change, Southern Baptist congregations continue to see more baptisms of children as a portion of the population than other age groups. While Southern Baptist baptisms per 1,000 people in America have declined across every age group since 1971, the decline has been greatest among youth,” McConnell said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Aaron Earls and originally published by Lifeway Research.
