If the world was a village of 100 people, 33 would claim to be Christians; 24 would be Muslims, 14 Hindus, 7 Buddhists, 6 would follow Chinese religions, 11 would be non-religious and there would be a handful of others.The proportion of the world that claims to be Christian has been much the same for a century or more. But many things have changed through that time:
1. The Church has spread more widely. There are now groups of believers in every country.
2. The Christian faith has grown much stronger in the Global South. Millions of Christians have
been born across Africa and Asia. Many cultural Catholics in Latin America have met Christ in
Pentecostal, charismatic and other evangelical churches.
3. In its former heartlands, particularly in Europe, the Christian movement has declined.
4. Pentecostals and charismatics have changed the composition of the Church. Almost zero in 1900,
they now make up more than a third of all Christians.
5. The Church has grown despite opposition and persecution in countries like China, India, Sudan,
Vietnam, Iran, Algeria, Albania and Mongolia.
6. Some of the fiercest persecution has been followed by the largest church growth. The Cultural
Revolution in China was a deadly attack on all religions. Fifty years later, around
100 million Chinese have joined the Church, the greatest turning to the Christian faith in history (so
far).
7. Thousands of people have turned to Christ in Muslim countries in the last 30 years. This has
never happened before.
Let us pray that this year we will ‘always give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, knowing
that our labour in the Lord is not in vain’ (see 1 Corinthians 15:56).
Information from Praying for the World
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