Nashville ? The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, grew slightly last year in members and new congregations but at a slower rate than the previous 12 months.

The convention also reported a decline in baptisms for the fourth consecutive year. One Southern Baptist leader said that the statistics indicated the convention has “lost its focus.”

“We as a denomination have lost a sense of urgency in reaching people for Christ,” said Jimmy Draper, president of Lifeway Christian Resources, a Southern Baptist agency. “We face some tremendous challenges from an increasingly secularized society and we’ve got to lead people to a saving faith in Christ if we are going to have a positive influence in our culture.”

The denomination grew by well under 1 percent in membership in 2003, bringing the total to 16.3 million people.