STATE OF THE WORLD

The Task Remaining

What is the status of Global Christianity 2000 years after Christ gave the command to go make disciples of all nations? The whiteboard video below has been seen by over 200,000 people on YouTube; however, every believer needs this information so that the body of Christ can ACT on it. This four minute video has the potential to change the course of your life, so listen carefully and learn what the Lord wants to teach!

The following data comes largely from Gordon Conwell Seminary’s World Christian Encyclopedia, produced by their Center for the Study of Global Christianity, and is augmented by "The Task Remaining" lesson from the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course. These insights give us a good understanding of where the greatest spiritual needs exist in the world as well as what percentage of our mission force and finances are going to those parts of the globe.

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Basically, the world can be divided into three parts based on how people respond to two questions:

1. Do you have access to a Christian witness?

2. Are you a Christian?

People who respond “yes” to both questions are considered “World C.“ These people are found in countries like the United States, Spain, England, Poland, Kenya, Romania, and throughout Latin America. They have had significant access to the gospel and many people living in these areas would claim to be “Christian,” even though they may be only nominal or cultural followers of Christ. An estimated 10% of the world’s population are true believers, while another 23% are considered adherents to the Christian faith. We find that “World C” includes 33% of the world’s population, 72% of the missionaries, and 87% of missions finances.

People who respond “yes” to the first question and “no” to the second question are considered “World B.“ These people live in countries like India, Thailand, Japan, China, Nigeria, and Vietnam. For the most part, these people have access to the gospel but have chosen not to embrace it. They are what we call “exposed unbelievers,” because they have had a chance to respond to the message and have said "no." “World B” includes 38% of the world’s population, 25% of the missionaries, and 12% of missions finances.

People who respond “no” to both questions are considered “World A.“ These people live in countries like Iran, Bhutan, Somalia, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Algeria. Most of these people have no access to a Christian, a missionary, a church, or a Bible. These people are virtually "unreached" and need an outside witness to share Christ with them. We refer to them as “unexposed unbelievers,” because they have very little chance of hearing about Jesus. “World A” includes 28% of the world’s population, 3% of the missionaries, and 1% of missions finances.

In summary, 1 of every 40 foreign missionaries is serving among “World A,” where the majority of the unreached people groups in the world live.

We want to change that!

THUMB People

This is the breakdown of missionaries according to religion (THUMB people – Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious (Atheist), Muslim, Buddhist):

Tribals – 737,909,000 – (9.2% of world population) – 11,900 Missionaries (1 for every 60,009)
Hindus – 1,062,595,000 – (13.3% of world population) – 5,500 Missionaries (1 for every 179,006)
Unreligious – 1,757,433,000 – (21.9% of world population) – 11,700 Missionaries (1 for every 71,048)
Muslims – 1,893,345,000 - (23.7% of world population) – 4,200 Missionaries (1 for every 405,510)
Buddhists – 545,584,000 – (6.8% of world population) – 2,000 Missionaries (1 for every 260,001)

There is a lot of discussion in the Christian world today about fighting injustice (racial reconciliation, human trafficking, slavery, AIDS, poverty). We believe those ARE issues that are near to God’s heart. However . . .

We consider it a huge injustice that, 2000 years after Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations, only 2.4% of missionaries are working among the nearly 3 billion people who have never had the chance to hear the Good News of the kingdom for the first time!

Currently, 7,400+ of the 17,000 people groups in the world are considered unreached with the gospel, with little to no access to the Good News. A huge task remains to be done! However, about 7 million churches exist in the world today, meaning that there are approximately 1,000 congregations for every unreached people group. Consider this: If the church worked in unity, along with praying, giving, going, and welcoming strategically, we could see all nations reached with the love of Christ in our lifetime!

Does this information break your heart?

Does it motivate you? Does it overwhelm you?

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This video is part of our FREE five week Step In study, designed for small groups to understand God’s heart for the nations and explore next steps in Great Commission involvement.