Christianity is spreading faster now than it has at any time in human history. If that statement surprises you, it means that you probably live in the Global North where Christianity is—at best—holding its own. But Christianity is exploding in the Global South. Consider:

  • There were nine million Christians in Africa in 1900; by 2000, there were 335 million (37 times as many) with most of the growth occurring since the 1960s.
  • In Latin America in 1900, there were 50,000 Protestants; today, there are more than 64 million (1,280 times as many), again with most of the growth occurring since the 1960s. A significant majority of these Protestants identify themselves as Charismatic or Pentecostal Evangelicals.
  • The number of Christians in Asia grew from 101 million to 351 million between 1970 and 2010.
  • In China, it has been estimated that 10,000 people per day become Christ Followers, and even by conservative estimates, Christianity has grown 4,300 percent in 50 years. By 2030, China will have more Christians living in it than any other nation on earth.
  • There are 3.7 times as many Protestants in Africa as in North America—and the gap grows dramatically every year. This has happened just in recent decades
  • In 1980, sixty-five percent of the world’s missionaries were sent out from the Global North; by 2020, that situation will be reversed, as sixty-three percent will be coming from the Global South.
  • Beyond just the numerical growth, we are now seeing widespread Kingdom Movements led by indigenous Christians that are multiplying rapidly in regions throughout the Global South.
  • In the Islamic world, there were no movements7 among Muslims8 until the nineteenth century. Today, every region of the Muslim world is experiencing replicating movements, even in some of the most extreme areas. — The Kingdom Unleashed: How Jesus’ 1st-Century Kingdom Values Are Transforming Thousands of Cultures and Awakening His Church / Jerry Trousdale and Glenn Sunshine
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