RICHMOND, Va. — The amount of data that exists in the world today is mind-boggling. Credit card companies monitor every purchase to identify fraudulent ones with a high degree of accuracy. Mobile-phone operators analyze subscribers’ calling patterns to determine if their frequent contacts are on a rival network. Supermarkets collect data to tailor promotions to particular customers’ preferences.
Each year through the Annual Church Profile, Virginia Baptist churches provide statistical data on their congregations. This information helps the Virginia Baptist Mission Board identify priorities and allocate resources to areas most needed. The ACP survey allows the Mission Board to identify churches with strengths in particular areas of ministry and to plot trends within the data.
But only 80 percent of churches affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia completed the 2010 ACP survey, a worrying trend for BGAV strategists. Without high participation, they say, a full evaluation of Baptist life in the state is impossible.
ACP data includes a variety of key information. For instance, according to the most recent ACP data, 34 churches affiliated with the BGAV in 2010, bringing the total to 1,422. This compares to 32 new congregations in 2009.
Of the 34 new churches, 24 were ethnic. Ten of these were Korean congregations, six were African American, five were Hispanic, one was Russian and two were multi-cultural. The majority are located in Northern Virginia.
Six churches added in 2010 were multi-site.
The BGAV received one church as the result of a merger of two churches and nine affiliated under watch care. Watch care churches are either new starts or congregations unable to contribute financially at this time to the Virginia portion of the Cooperative Missions budget. Several of these are ethnic and counted above.
Of the 26 churches that left the BGAV in 2010, the majority were churches that disbanded. Of the 14 churches that ceased ministry, five merged with another congregation and nine disbanded. Five churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, while two became independent and five cited other reasons. Total membership has dropped 4.7 percent in the past five years.
Worship attendance in Virginia Baptist churches has decreased 6.8 percent since 2006. Saint Paul’s Baptist Church in Richmond reported the highest at 6,257. Yet over 50 percent of BGAV churches have less than 85 present in worship each week.
ACP survey figures show baptisms have decreased 14.2 percent over the past five years. Over 19 percent of Virginia Baptist churches reported no baptisms. Half of the top 10 churches in baptisms in 2010 were organized since 1990.
Observers say there are several reasons churches choose not to participate in the ACP. Larger congregations are more likely not to report than smaller ones. Pastors or leaders may not understand who gets the data and how it will be used.
The time and ease of collecting data is a factor. New congregations may not use program-based ministry as reflected in the report. Ethnic churches are less likely to participate.
Janet Bess, demographic, data and research specialist at the Mission Board, said data compiled from the Annual Church Profile are a testament to the work that God is doing in churches around Virginia.
And, she says, congregations across the nation look at ACP data to aid in calling staff members.
All churches need to participate so the Kingdom work of every congregation in Virginia can be counted, says Bess.
Barbara Francis is a staff writer for the Religious Herald.