The Future of World Christianity

The last century has witnessed some of the most dramatic shifts imaginable in the world Christian movement.  There are now vibrant expressions of Christianity across sub-Saharan Africa, in India, in China, throughout Latin America, and the Far East, especially in Korea. In Latin America, for example, the period between 1970 to the present witnessed the Anglicans growing from 4.5 million to 50 million; Independents from 9 million to 100 million, Protestants from 13 million to 137 million.  I just returned from a trip to Medellin Colombia and saw first-hand the remarkable transformation the gospel is making in that region.   In sub-Saharan Africa, the Protestant churches have grown from 12 million to 89 million (1970-2000), and in the last 25 years as grown to 137 million.  The independent churches have grown from 9 million in 1970 to over 100 million today.  The Roman Catholics have grown substantially as well the Orthodox communion.  The largest percentage growth belongs to the Anglicans who went from 4 million to 42 million and by 2010 to 50 million.  I have spent considerable time in various countries in Africa and seen the growth and vibrancy first-hand.  China, after World War II only had about 3 million Catholics and only 1 million Protestants.  Today, the number of Chinese Christians is between 100 to 130 million Christians.  While my time in China has been more limited, I did have the privilege once of baptizing a new believer in the Yangtze River.

Despite the stunning growth of the church outside the traditional heartlands of Christianity there are serious challenges facing the church as well.  The church in North America and Western Europe is in serious decline.  The ancient churches in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have experienced an unprecedented exodus of Christians.  Open Doors tracks Christian persecution around the world and gives an annual update on the state of global persecution.  More Christians live under persecution than any time in the history of the church. Traditional theological education in the West is no longer sustainable and the headwind against seminaries is unprecedented.

          All of this has important implications for what it means to be a Christian in the world today.  If you are pastor in North America or Western Europe, you are living on the seam of a post-Christian culture.  Proclaiming the gospel in a post-modern, post-Christian context calls for resilience and confidence in the power of the gospel as never before.  If you are living in areas of the world where there many new Christians, the need for vibrant, church planting movements and solid theological training is vital.

          However, as one who studies global Christianity, I want to encourage you to pray for the church in China.  China will be the strongest church in the world by the middle of the 21st century.  While it is certainly true that the growth of the church in Africa means that African Christians will play a central role in defining Christian identity throughout this century. Nevertheless, the church in Africa has been significantly weakened by the growth of the so-called “prosperity” gospel.  The church in the West has been seriously weakened by the minimalistic expectations of Christian life here.  It is with some dismay that I say that the defining question which has shaped contemporary Christianity in the West is the question, “What is the least one has to do to become a Christian?”  That kind of low-bar Christianity will not transform lives, or the society we live in.   The Latin American church is vibrant, but also risks being swept up into their version of Christian nationalism.  The church in China, precisely because it is a persecuted church, is emerging as the strongest and most well discipled church in the world.   Thus, by 2050 and beyond, it seems increasingly clear that China will be the most defining example of biblical Christianity.  They are not there yet, as they also face many problems, but that will, I think, be the long-term trajectory.  A suffering church leads to a more purified church.  So, please pray for our brothers and sisters in China.  Many pastors are in prison.  Churches have been destroyed.  Hundreds of crosses have been removed from churches in open defiance of the message of the cross.  The non-registered churches also face innumerable challenges in maintaining a faithful witness.  But, through it all, the Chinese Christians are demonstrating that they understand more profoundly that the entire church, East and West, North and South, is facing the biggest challenge in history: The clash of two eschatological visions.  One vision is that of the autonomous State engineering their utopian vision, even as they utilize dystopian measures.  The other is the vision of the New Creation under the Lordship of Jesus Christ which proclaims the good news of the inbreaking Kingdom for all those who repent, believe and come fully under his gracious rule.

May all of us live each day with “our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2,3).   If we stay united to Him, even in suffering, we will also be united with Him in the New Creation.  Let’s stay focused, church!