Story by Lynne Taylor
Attendance at Baptist Churches in New Zealand increased again in 2025, with data from the latest church statistical returns showing a continued recovery towards pre-covid numbers.
Baptism numbers are also increasing, with 876 baptisms celebrated in Baptist churches last year: even more than the 727 baptised in pre-covid 2019. (710 people were baptised in 2024.)
Overall, Baptist churches recorded a total weekly onsite attendance of 29,084 people, made up of 22,017 adults, 2818 teenagers and 4249 children. This is a 6.6% increase from 2024; and a 30% increase from the 2022 low. However it is still 10% lower than pre-covid 2019.
Of those baptised, around 35% are children (4%) and youth (31%), with an additional 16% being young adults. Where their church backgrounds were reported, 38% were the children of attenders, while 33% had not previously attended church before joining the baptising church.
While these increases are heartening, the longer-term trends remain downward. Attendance peaked at 42,841 in 2002, and baptisms at 1521 in 2004.
In 2025, the average (mean) attendance at Baptist churches was 124, and the median was 84. Altogether, just over a quarter of Baptist churches have up to 50 attenders, with 15% having more than 200 in average weekly attendance. (60% of churches have 100 or less attenders.) There are currently 238 local churches that are part of the Baptist Union of New Zealand.
Ninety churches report having online service options. While most are small (over half of these churches reported less than ten online attenders each week), 15 churches reported over 50 people attending online. Regardless of the number of attenders, online services are essential for those who are unable to attend onsite, due to illness, work or caring responsibilities, or other vulnerabilities.
Coupled with anecdotal evidence, the modest growth in attendance and baptisms invites reflections on whether a so-called “quiet revival” is occurring in Aotearoa New Zealand. How would we know if it was? Stories of newcomers are certainly encouraging and should be shared. However, careful data gathering and analysis (and more time) is required before we can be confident.
The church statistics data helps here. A third of the people baptised last year came from unchurched backgrounds, indicating evangelism and discipleship is certainly occurring in those baptising churches and people are choosing to signify their faith by being baptised. However, this sort of rate is not new. The proportion of baptisms that were of previously unchurched people has fluctuated since it was first recorded in 1998, from 25% to 44%, with an average of 37%: four points higher than the current proportion.
The lag between the highest attendances at Baptist churches and highest number of baptisms was two years (2002 – 2004). A similar lag might be expected today as it takes time for newcomers to be discipled before deciding to be baptised.
What you expect determines what you see and how you act. Data certainly suggests there is an openness to spirituality in Aotearoa today, and churches are invited to anticipate, notice, resource and support such interest. It is not necessarily that this is new.
Churches that anticipate that people might be open towards Christianity are more likely to create an environment that is welcoming and connective for those exploring faith and spirituality.
People who expect their friends might be interested in the bible, Christian faith and spirituality may talk about their own faith more openly.
Churches that anticipate that newcomers might attend worship services and consider their communications and activities with such newcomers in mind, are more likely to provide an environment that is welcoming towards those who arrive at church not knowing what to expect.
Perhaps such attitudes of openness to what God is doing in Aotearoa and a keenness to play our part may help create an environment wherein lives are transformed.
Data has been collected from churches for the annual Baptist Church Statistics since the establishment of the first Baptist church. Attendance data has been included in the survey since 1987 and detailed information on the age and background of people being baptised since 1998. As well as contributing to national church analyses such as these, individual church data is available on request, enabling churches to see their attendance, membership, baptism and financial data over several years.
About the Author: Lynne Taylor contracts to the Baptist Churches of New Zealand as Researcher, which includes her reporting annually on Baptist church statistics. She is also Senior Lecturer in Pastoral Theology at the University of Otago, where one of her main research interests is contemporary faith formation.
This story was originally published by The Baptist Church NZ
