Theologically Conservative Church Growth Outpaces Liberal Growth

Be careful here: “Liberal” and “Conservative” in this context has NOTHING to do with politics and everything to do with how literally you take the gospel message. Was Mary a virgin? Was Jesus born into the world both human and divine? Is Jesus God? Does the Trinity exist? Did Jesus die on the cross for our sins? Was he resurrected? Does he reign in heaven now and will he come to Earth again to judge the world? Does the Holy Spirit dwell in believers?

Answer “Yes” to these questions and you are theologically conservative. (Or as I like to say, CORRECT.) Theological liberals may believe some of the above, but many consider these statements of faith to be metaphorical.

The article “Liberal churches are dying. But conservative churches are thriving” shares the results of a study on liberal vs. more Bible-believing congregations. Here’s an excerpt:

Over the last five years, my colleagues and I conducted a study of 22 mainline congregations in the province of Ontario. We compared those in the sample that were growing mainline congregations to those that were declining. After statistically analyzing the survey responses of over 2,200 congregants and the clergy members who serve them, we came to a counterintuitive discovery: Conservative Protestant theology, with its more literal view of the Bible, is a significant predictor of church growth while liberal theology leads to decline. The results were published this month in the peer-reviewed journal, Review of Religious Research.

Tell me something I didn’t know. Faith changes lives, including urging a believer to regular church involvement. But believing in the “Christ way” or whatever the word-of-the-day is leads to nothing.