Partners In The Mission: Baptism Trends 11/13/2007 a message from Dr. Bill Mackey, executive director In the research report, Baptism Trends, “An Indepth Analysis of Baptisms in Kentucky Churches from 1980-2003,” by the Rainer Group, it was reported that annual baptisms for ages birth-24 declined by 26.2 percent (4,202 persons). “We believe that the key issue in increasing baptisms in Kentucky Baptist Churches is a greater and more intentional focus on reaching young persons,” the report said. “The work of Rainer Research indicates that 81 percent of Americans who accept Christ do so before the age of 20. Even more noteworthy is that 75 percent of those who accept Christ do so before the age of 15.” If you compare the baptisms with the population for ages 9 to 17, the decline from 1980 to 2003 was a dramatic 38 percent. Kentucky Baptist churches are reaching fewer and fewer of those in America’s most receptive group. Key points from the research included the following: Churches must be intentional about evangelizing young persons. Many churches have focused on ministries that do not have a specific evangelistic influence. Vacation Bible school continues to be one of the most effective means of evangelizing young people. In Kentucky in 2006, 767 churches did not report having conducted a VBS, which is 30 percent of the churches in the recent study. According to KBC and LifeWay records, White’s Run Association was the only one with every church reporting a VBS. Among other associations, Ten Mile, Monroe, Allen, and Casey had only one church each not reporting a VBS. In two associations, more than 45 percent of the churches did not report a VBS. Many church leaders avoid evangelism with this age group over concerns about true conversion. That should not prevent a church from utilizing the best approaches that are scripturally sound and with discipleship follow up. Sunday school has historically been one of the most effective means of reaching young persons for Christ, and I believe Sunday school deserves special emphasis for evangelistic outreach and assimilation/discipleship. The research showed that “pastors are becoming less evangelistic personally. This lack of evangelistic leadership impacts all age groups, but especially the very receptive age group of young persons.” I know many pastors and churches who are doing an excellent job. The Kentucky Baptist Convention staff will be offering special assistance with VBS and outreach efforts with young persons. The Rainer report concludes that an increase in baptisms will require more people sharing the Gospel with the best approaches accompanied by passionate soul winning and a broken heart for lost people. I pray that God will bring Kentucky Baptists together in a Spirit-led, intentional commitment to help connect all Kentuckians to Jesus Christ. Dr. Mackey's column appears weekly in the Western Recorder. To subscribe to the Western Recorder, call (502) 489-3535.