Alaska Baptists confront declining membership

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Southern Baptists in Alaska are launching a three-year growth effort aimed at reversing a membership decline.

While it might seem a contradiction in terms, Southern Baptists have been in Alaska since the 1940s. Yet they number only about 1.4 percent of the state's population, and appear to be losing ground.

At its 57th annual session in Anchorage in early August, the Alaska Baptist Convention reported a nearly 15-percent drop in church membership during the last five years to 16,848 in 2002. Resident membership, meanwhile, which is generally considered a more accurate count, fell below 10,000, to 8,788, in 2001.

David Baldwin, executive director of the state convention, and a 21-year veteran of missionary work in Alaska who became executive director in 2000, cited several problems. Interest in Sunday School and training programs is lacking, evangelism is inconsistent and some churches depend too much on outside funding, he said.