Over the past two years, Talbot has experienced remarkable growth. In a season when many institutions struggle, especially in Christian higher education, this growth can bring a lot of encouragement. Of course, we’re encouraged here at Talbot, not to mention grateful. But we also think this growth can encourage the wider body of Christ. That’s partially why I have shared Talbot updates on social media every Monday — to highlight what God is doing here at the Talbot School of Theology. Now, I want to share a Monday update on the official Talbot blog to encourage you, too.

With Talbot’s long and amazing history, I was humbled when I was called to become a part of that legacy. That said, when I was hired, Talbot (and Biola) had been experiencing a slow decline in enrollment. When I came as dean about two and a half years ago, the release announced that the administration hired me to lead an enrollment turnaround. The turnaround was starting just before I came, and I joyfully joined to help accelerate it. That turnaround has been the focus of our faculty and staff. And thanks to our whole team — and mostly to God — we’ve not just turned our enrollment around, the Lord has given us really surprising growth.

I’ve been asked several times, , “What has driven this turnaround?” To answer, let me start by telling you how things are going. I described it in my final social media “Talbot Monday Update” :

Here's your final Talbot Monday update.

The Lord has truly blessed the — allowing us to see a surprising 11% headcount increase in the seminary over the last two years.

For our undergrad Bible, Theology, and Ministry majors we've seen an amazing 29% increase over the last two years.

It's really been exciting to see what the Lord is doing here at Talbot, so pray that we steward this growth well, providing the excellence and spiritual formation that Talbot is known for.

Come study with us here at — here in SoCal, online, or in locations launching soon.

(It's our final update since school has now started and this week is our reporting date for our accrediting agencies.)

This year, we’ve welcomed the largest incoming seminary class in our history, with over 11% headcount growth over the past two years. It actually looks like more than that in our official reports, because we merged the Cook School of Intercultural Studies into Talbot. But apples-to-apples, the seminary has grown by about 11% in two years.

All told, we are now the third-largest of the multi-denominational seminaries in the nation by full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment. Only Dallas Seminary and Asbury Seminary are larger than Talbot, with Fuller Seminary and Gordon Conwell Seminary rounding out the top five.

One thrilling sign of this growth is that, for the first time, Talbot has more than 1,500 seminary students in our seminary (graduate) programs.

As I mentioned, the numbers for our Bible, theology and ministry majors have surged — the largest since our days as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It's been encouraging to see both parents and students excited about the strong biblical foundation we offer.

Getting the word out has helped accelerate growth — like driving the Talbotron 3000 across the country and talking to thousands of pastors. Because our amazing faculty makes it easy to spread the word. Simply put, people hear about Uche Anizor, Erik Thoennes, Joanne Jung, Kyle Strobel, Sean McDowell, and many more — and those people want to come study at Talbot. And they should! I’m going around telling people, because we have a story to tell! It wouldn’t work without the story.

Likewise, as President Barry Corey , we are unrelentingly committed to staying theologically grounded. And that is also a part of why we are growing as people know and trust Biola and Talbot. (Fun fact: a Baylor professor did a study — — and found Biola the most comprehensively Christian university in the country.)

We know our growth is tied to that confidence, and my role as dean is to make sure that remains front and center. We do that in several ways.

For example, we’ve ensured that our theological convictions are front and center in our hiring process. From the very beginning, we explain that we’re not just asking candidates to “work within” our doctrinal commitments. No, we require affirmation and commitments to those convictions. Institutions stay faithful over time by hiring people who stand on firm theological foundations — and don’t just agree to them on paper. (Here’s .)

I recently , citing an email I sent to faculty candidates:

"We are not looking for people who can 'work within' our doctrinal statements. You actually need to align with them ('believe to be true'), and will be asked that in the interview process. (We do an extensive theological screening at Talbot.)"

Schools drift one hire at a time.

I also wrote , including:

Talbot is a conservative evangelical school, and we’re also broadly evangelical. That means our school’s doctrinal statement is foundational to who we are and how we have collectively decided to represent Christianity to the outside world. Therefore, alignment with our doctrinal statement is non-negotiable.

It’s surprising how many applicants raise theological “what about if I am close?” after reading it. Here’s a better way: If you’re applying to a school, read its doctrinal statement carefully. If it’s not a good fit, it’s better to recognize that early and apply to schools with whom you are more aligned theologically. In my experience (and I’ve seen it across several institutions), schools don’t drift toward orthodoxy — they drift away, often one hire at a time.

In a world where many schools drift one hire at a time, we’re committed to ensuring that Talbot remains anchored — and seminary students trust that, as do the parents of our undergrads.

And that’s a big part of the turnaround story, too.

Thanks for journeying with us, and I can’t wait to see what else God has for the future of Talbot. I believe we have many more bright days ahead of us!