Baptism-to-Retention Ratio by Division

Executive summary

The Seventh-day Adventist Church baptises over 1.4 million people annually but loses approximately 43% cumulatively since 1965. Retention rates vary dramatically by division — from catastrophic losses in some Global South regions (as low as 10-20% retention in parts of the Philippines) to moderate retention in the North American Division (approximately 60% at 5 years). The "back door" problem is the church's most critical growth challenge: in 2023, 836,905 members were lost against 1.465 million...