Georgia profile study shows higher baptism rates are tied to revivals

Some churches around the nation may be questioning the effectiveness of revival meetings, but the Georgia Baptist Convention has proof that higher baptism rates are directly tied to the number of revivals that are held.

“Some claim that the day of revival services is over, but I believe we should let the record speak for itself,” says Mike Minnix, vice president for the Executive Office for Evangelization. “Information from our 2001 Annual Church Profile (ACP) shows that not only are revivals effective, but they are one of the most cost- and time-efficient ways of reaching the lost for Christ.”

In 2002 Georgia Baptist churches were asked to report their revival participation for the previous church year. The question had never before appeared on the state’s ACP.

GBC Research Services found that in 2001, 51 percent of Georgia Baptist churches held revivals – an admittedly slim majority, Minnix is quick to admit. But the statistics as reported on that survey are eye-opening, he adds.

Churches that did not hold a revival reported a baptism-to-church-member ratio of 1 to 36, while those churches that held revivals but had no decisions had a baptism ratio of 1 to 24. Churches that held a revival and had at least one conversion had an even better ratio of 1 to 19.

“A ‘bad’ revival is better than no revival at all, and a good revival is even better,” Minnix explained.

“This is the first time we have ever had access to this kind of information from our churches, and it is very affirming of the effectiveness of revivals. Even when no one came forward and was baptized, the evangelistic teaching apparently permeated the church atmosphere and had lasting effects. Laypeople saw the value of evangelism and were more sensitive to the lostness of their friends and family,” he added.

Vocational Evangelist Keith Fordham from Fayetteville, who was responsible for getting the question placed on the ACP, studied the statistics and made further observations.

“If all of our churches had conducted revivals and sustained the 1 to 24 baptism-to-resident member ratio, we would have reported 6,922 more baptisms in Georgia than the previous year. Our total baptisms could easily have been 43,348 – more than 6,000 above the record set in 1998 when 37,182 baptisms were recorded.

“Now let’s take it one step further. If all Georgia Baptist churches had conducted revivals and sustained the 1 to 19 ratio (of those churches which reported more than one salvation), the state would have reported an additional 17,209 baptisms for the year. Total baptisms for 2001 would have been approximately 53,632 rather than 36,280,” he said.

Fordham then stated that public professions of faith are made 98.6 percent of the time when a harvest evangelist is used in the services. The member of Harp’s Crossing Baptist Church based his information on records he has compiled from 1,100 revivals and harvest days.