For the first time in United States history, most major church denominations stopped growing and began to shrink—except the conservative denominations! Census of churches reveal that conservative bodies invariably move to the top of any growth listings, while National Council (liberal) churches occupy lower positions. The RULE: the more ecumenical and liberal the denomination, the more membership losses it suffers. Examples of exceptional growths are the Southern Baptists (which saw a Baptist to the White House in 1977), the Assemblies of God, the Church of the Nazarene, and others.

Five theological schools now rank ahead of the liberal Union Theological Seminary, which had held the no. 1 spot for most of its 140 years—Dallas Theological, Fuller Theological, Gordon Conwell Theological, Asbury Theological, and Trinity Divinity Seminary. All these growing schools uphold the historical accuracy and inspiration of Scripture. The more rigidly conservative, the larger its growth!