Where’s Captain Obvious when you need him? For the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, I’m John Stonestreet with The Point.

What’s the difference between growing churches and shrinking churches? Well, taking Christianity seriously helps. A new study slated for publication in the journal, Review of Religious Research, yielded some not-so-surprising results.

Churches with what the authors called “theologically conservative beliefs” grew the fastest. By “conservative beliefs,” it’s clear they mean “churches that actually believe in the Christian faith.”

The survey found that—shocker—churches whose clergy say it’s important for non-Christians to become Christians are fifty percent more likely to grow.

Also, 71 percent of congregants in growing churches read their Bibles daily, while just 19 percent in shrinking churches do. And 56 percent of clergy in shrinking churches said they believe Jesus rose bodily from the dead; 96 percent of clergy in growing churches affirmed this core doctrine.

It’s no surprise. If you don’t preach Christianity as the true story of reality, people will just stay in bed on Sunday.