While our Lord and Savior, Jesus, is eternally the same, His church across the globe continues to grow and change with every year that passes. Here are a few things you might not realize about the global church in the modern world.
1. The center of Christianity is no longer in the west.
Christianity’s center of gravity is no longer moving north and west as it has in the past when Christianity spread to the western world. Now, the center has immensely shifted back towards the south and east.
2. Nations around the world are joining missions.
The global mission force is increasingly consisting of more and more missionaries from newer Christian nations rather than just North American and European countries. Nations like Nigeria, the Philippines, South Korea, Ghana, and China are all getting involved and sending tens of thousands of missionaries into global missions, and many of these are serving in the west.
3. The church in India and China are growing fastest.
The number of believers in India and China is growing at an exponential rate. India’s church could be nearing 10% of the population, while there are millions and millions of believers in China and more are being added to that number every day.
4. More and more of the global population is urban.
More than 50% of the world’s population resides in cities now rather than the rural settings we tend to picture when we imagine the mission field. While rural villages and tribes continue to be destinations for many missionaries, the amount of people living in cities is changing the backdrop of mission work, affecting the approach and strategy of many missionaries.
5. There is a need for discipleship training.
While there has been a dramatic increase in believers in many countries, the number of individuals who are being trained and equipped to lead churches and shepherd believers is significantly low. There is a need for missionaries who are trained to model discipleship that can travel to countries where theological education isn’t available so they can then teach others good habits and practices.
“TAnd he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Luke 10:2
For More Information about the Global Church visit:
https://www.seedbed.com/6-contributions-the-global-church-has-made-to-missions/
https://www.seedbed.com/why-the-american-church-needs-the-global-church/
https://www.seedbed.com/paradigm-shifts-in-global-missions-2/