Kentucky Baptists Say Baptisms Increased Last Year

Kentucky Baptists say their churches baptized more than 14,000 people in 2014, an increase from the year before.

The Kentucky Baptist Convention says in a release Thursday that executive director Paul Chitwood has been focusing on evangelism and growing ranks by building new churches and reviving existing flocks.

About 20 percent of the 2,400 member churches did not submit baptism numbers. The convention recorded 14,223 baptisms in 2014, up from 13,975 the previous year.

Hillvue Heights Church in Bowling Green recorded 511 baptisms, the most in the state. Hawk Creek Baptist Church in London was second with 252, and Valley View in Louisville had 234.

The Baptist Convention said undesignated financial contributions to churches were up to $314.3 million in 2014 from $309.8 million the year before.