Global Mission TrendsMajor Trends Impacting Missions Today

Trend #1Amazing growth of Christ-followers

world-wide

Islam is growing faster than Christianity.

Agree or disagree?

Fastest growing countries last 20 years

Country %Change

Qatar 342 %

United Arab Emirates 262 %

Kuwait 143 %

Bahrain 137 %

Western Sahara 122 %

Niger 114 %

Oman 113 %

Liberia 100 %

Chad 99 %

Lebanon 95 %

9 of 10

How many have Islam as primary religion?

Major religions 1900 to 2050

Christianity growth projected as flat to 2050

Major Religions Annual Growth Rates vs Evangelicals

1.2%1.3%

1.2%

1.9%

1.2%

2.6%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

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Amazing Advance of the Gospel

1965 2015

Evangelicals world-wide

90 million

650 million

% of Worlds Population

4% 9%

• Globally an estimated 55,000 people become Christ-followers every day.

• An average of 3,500 churches are planted every week around the world.

Remarkable Growth in China

1949 – Less that 1 million believers

2016 – Estimates suggest between 80-100 million believers

Over 6,000 -10,000 people become Christ-followers

every day in China.

Remarkable Growth in Iran

• 1979 – 500 known Christ-followers

• 2016 – Some estimates suggest possibly 1 million Christ-followers (many have had to flee the country)

Remarkable Growth in Indonesia

• 70,000 new house churches in last few years.

• Over 15% of the population are Christian

• Almost half of the Muslim Background

Believers in the world are Indonesians.

• The government was so concerned that they

have stopped counting Christian growth.

(the largest Muslim country in the world)

Other countries with remarkable current growth of Christianity

India – “like China in the 1970’s and 80’s”

Mongolia – 1989 less than 10 known Christ-followers, today

estimated 75,000 and growing at almost 8% AGR

Bangladesh – over 156 million people

Officially: 89% Muslim, 10% Hindu, 1% Christian.

Unofficially: insiders suggest Christianity is closer to 10%

• Be encouraged by what the Lord of the Harvest is doing!

• Spirit of God is at work around the globe and we have

privilege and opportunity to be involved.

• Importance of long-term commitment.

• Christians should have children – spiritual and physical.

Trend #1 - Amazing growth of Christ-followers world-wideImplications

Trend #2Slowing Evangelical growth

since peak in 1990s

Declining Evangelical annual growth rate (AGR)

Slowing growth – China

Plateauing – Korea

Declining – Europe / West

Every major religion is growing faster than Evangelicals in the United States

1.2%1.3%

1.2%

1.9%

1.2%

2.6%

1.0%

2.6%

2.0% 1.9%

0.5%

0.8%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

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Solid = Global Striped = United States

The absolute number of non-believers is growing.

YearAbsolute number of non-believers

1900 1.06 billion

1970 2.46 billion

2000 4.14 billion

2016 4.96 billion

There are more people alive today that do not know Christ than at any other time in history.

Number of global cross-cultural mission workers is growing or shrinking?

2000 – 450,000

2016 – 386,000

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

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2000 2016

Cro

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90% of decline is from US

5% from UK

5% from rest of the world

• Great Commission is not finished!

• Business as usual will not get the job done.

• Missions must remain as the core DNA of a church.

• Church must invest mission resources strategically.

• Vital importance of campus and mobilization ministries.

• Mission resources from US may grow scarcer.

Trend #2 - Slowing Evangelical growth since peak in 1990s.Implications

Trend #3Limited resources directed

toward people groups with the least access to the Gospel

“Unreached” now applied to everything

• My neighbor … co-worker … New England is “unreached.”

• Missions buzz-word that has lost its meaning.

• No longer carries meaning of an ethnic people group with virtually no access to or presence of the Gospel.

Unreached peoples off the radar“Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. Let’s move on.”

Unreached = < 2% Christ-followers

Total people groups: 16,600

6,700 (40%)Unreached people groups:

Unreached = people groups with few, if any, indigenous believers, missionaries, Bibles, Christian resources, churches

What does it mean to “reach” a people group?

• An indigenous church planting movement is underway.

• Indigenous evangelism, leadership training, worship forms, Christian arts and church multiplication are occurring.

• Christianity is not viewed as something foreign.

• The movement has the capacity and vision to saturate the rest of the people group.

• Movement has reached “critical mass” – chain reaction capable of carrying on the process.

• Outside assistance is no longer needed.

Limited Missionaries

Less than 1 in 10

How many missionaries work among the unreached?

10/40 Window

Limited Access

How many of the remaining 6,700 unreached people groups live in restricted access countries? 5 out of 6

Limited Resources

Question: For every $1 of Christian giving to all causes how much goes to financing pioneer church planting among unreached peoples?

Answer: Less than a penny

North Americans spend more on Halloween costumes for pets than on outreach to unreached people groups.

Limited Churches

Location Population Churches Churches Population Location

Portland, OR 580,000 448 0 564,000 Asansol, India

Birmingham, AL 212,000 459 0 618,000Al Hudayadah, Yemen

Lancaster, PA 59,000 81 0 504,000Smarakaland, Uzbekistan

Indianapolis, IN 852,000 511 0 211,000 Tarhuna, Libya

https://player.vimeo.com/video/200845546

50 largest unreached people groups

These 50 unreached groups are comprised of 1.5 billion souls.

One in five people on earth live in these 50 unreached peoples.

Every group is larger than 10,000,000 in population.

None have an indigenous church capable of taking the Gospel to the entire group.

List of 50 largest unreached groups today is same as it was 10 years ago.

• Christ may be coming soon, but doubtful it is today if Matt

24:14 must be fulfilled.

• Making disciples of all people groups remains the Biblical

mandate for completing the Great Commission.

• A significant portion of church’s budget and personnel

ought to be allocated toward those with the least access.

• Need champions for the large unreached groups.

• Consider relocating to an unreached people group.

Trend #3 - Limited resources directed toward unreached people groups.Implications

Trend #4Movements to Christ among

Muslim people groups

• Islam began around 622 A.D.

• Over the centuries great numbers of “Christians” have been converted to Islam.

• But there have been very few movements of Muslims coming to Christ.

Definition of a movement

• At least 1,000 baptized believers –OR –100 new church starts

• Over a two-decade period

“A Wind in the House of Islam”By David Garrison

600-1800 No known movements

1800-1980 2 - Indonesia and Ethiopia

1980-2000 11 - Iran, Algeria, Bulgaria,

Albania, West Africa,

Bangladesh, Central Asia

2000-2013 69 - across the globe

Muslim Movements to Christ

02

11

69

0

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622-1800 1800-1980 1980-2000 2000-2013

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Kabyle Berber in North Africa

Oromo, Hararghein East Africa

Javanese in Indonesia

Arain in South Asia

A Wind in the House of Islam

Only a beginning

What percentage of the world's Hindu, Muslims, and Buddhists do not know a Christ-follower? 81%

• Rather than ask God to bless our agenda, move where God is moving.

• Spirit is moving in an unprecedented way among Muslims, often in supernatural way.

• Call is not to safety and prosperity, but to lay down our lives for those without the Gospel.

• Importance of local ministries among refugees and immigrants.

Trend #4 - Movements to Christ among Muslim people groupsImplications

Trend #5Rise of Global South as center

of Christianity

There are now as many Christ-followers in China as in North America.

The Great Shift

Year% Christians in

Europe and North America

% Christians in Latin America,Africa and Asia

1800 99% 1%

1900 90% 10%

1979 50% 50%

2016 24% 76%

Remarkable Growth of Christ-followers in the Global South

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290

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Global South

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For every 1 new Christ-follower in the US and Europe there are

29 in the Global South.

The new faces of the Body of Christ

From countries like Nigeria, Brazil, India and China

Rise of Asian, Africa and Latin American missionaries

10/40 Window Chinese

Koreans

Filipinos

NigeriansLatin Americans

Indians

• Receiving nations are becoming sending nations … success of missionary activity!

• Importance of partnership with non-western initiatives.

• Mission teams are now often a mix of internationals.

• Global South leaders given a representative voice.

• Importance of developing mission vision in everyone we minister to.

Trend #5 - Rise of Global South as center of ChristianityImplications

Trend #6Emphasis on Disciple-Making Movements. But great need for formal pastoral training.

Disciple-making movements (DMM)

Church Planting movements (CPM)

Training for trainers (T4T)

• Finding a “Person of Peace” • Discovery Bible Study• Early, simple training - emphasizing

obedience and every disciple a witness• Rapidly reproducing house churches• Minimal formal structure• Four generations before considered

successful

Globally what % of pastors lack formal training? 95%

Potential new pastors needed every day? 500*

Global lack of trained pastoral leadership

Without shepherds the sheep are easily lead astray. An estimated 2/3s of those reached through evangelism eventually fall away due to lack of discipleship and pastoral leadership.

An estimated two million plus pastors, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, are undertrained and isolated.

* Some estimates suggest this could be as high as 1,000 per day.

• Indigenous multiplying movements are the key

to reaching those with the least access.

• Rapidly reproducing disciples is foundational.

• Need to encourage formal pastoral training for

indigenous leaders.

• Great ministry opportunities for teachers and

theological educators.

Trend #6 - Emphasis on Disciple-making movements. But great need for formal pastoral training.

Implications

Trend #7Acceleration of Bible translation

Complete Bible640 (9.0%)

New Testament1,450 (20.5%)

Portions or Translation Underway 1,300

(18.3%)Questionable Need

or Dying 1,000 (14.1%)

Non-Living 900 (12.7%)

Translation Needed 1,800

(25.4%)

Status of Bible translation

About 1,800 (25%) languages need Bible translation to begin.

0

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1900 1950 1995 2000 2010 2015 2025

3 10

1821

73

120

215

Vision 2025

Would take until 2150

before all translation

projects started.

Vision 2025 Initiated

Great improvement, but still

take until 2038 before all

translation projects started.

Vision 2025 Accelerated

Rate needed for next 8 years to

accomplish Vision 2025 - Bible

translation in progress in every

needed language by the year 2025

Tra

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A Bible in every language that needs it

• New translation methodologies, indigenous

partnerships, crowd sourcing and technology are

greatly speeding up Bible translation

• A quality draft of New Testament once took 20-25

years. In some cases, now takes only 2-3 years.

• ParaText software and development of progress.bible

• Non-copyrighted translations

• “I was highly skeptical. Now I think it is inevitable”

President of Pioneer Bible Translators

• Quite possible that Bible translation will begin in

every language that needs it by 2025.

• “This is the first generation that can genuinely say the

Word of God may be available in every language that

needs it. A real finish-line is not that far off!”

• Great opportunity for technical people to be involved

in the Great Commission.

Trend #7 - Acceleration of Bible translationImplications

Trend #8Changing relationship of local church, mission agencies and

international partners.

“Traditional” Trend

Has worked well, but mission agency can view local church simply as a source of manpower

and funds, rather than ministry partners.

“Do-It-Yourself” Trend

• Mega-churches by-passing mission agencies, denominations and foreign partners.

• Sending workers or money directly to field.

“Partnership” Trend

Unreached people group

or place

Mission agency

Local church

Ministry Resources

National “proximate”

church

Existing Networks

and Training

“Partnership” Trend

• Complicated and difficult

• Involves building many trust relationships

• Empowers the national church

• Outcome focused

• Highly impactful

Trend #8 - Changing relationship of local church, mission agencies and international partners.

Implications

• “The Great Commission is too big for anyone to accomplish

alone and too important not to try to do together.” MissioNexus

• Partnership and genuine collaboration are the “new normal”

• Demonstrates the Body of Christ working together

www.visionSynergy.net

Trend #9Changing role of North American missionaries.

• Strong trend suggesting that the role of North American missions is over.

• Inefficient to send personnel. Just send money.

• So many problems here in US.

Time to pass the baton?

• Not a passing of the baton, but a cooperative equal partnership.

• Importance of both West and Global South missions efforts

• Often West providing expertise, training and innovation

• Global South offering zeal, new manpower and cultural-nearness

• Western humility and servanthood are key

• Global South missions still in adolescence - allow the Global South to learn from the experience and mistakes of the West

www.LinkingGlobalVoices.com

Greatest opportunity for partnership

10. Convergence of prayer and missions movements –

particularly among younger generation. Houses of

Prayer focused on missions and unreached peoples.

11. Business as Mission – indigenous micro-enterprises,

seed funds for local banking, job creation, dignity.

12. Reuniting of humanitarian aid and missions – more

holistic approach.

Other trends impacting global missions

Other trends impacting global missions

13. Orality movement – 60% of world prefers oral learning

vs 40% book learning. Bible storying and oral training.

14. I WOULD NOT IGNORE OR BYPASS THE PRINTED WORD

OF GOD – OTHERWISE FALSE TEACHING IS TOO EASY TO

PASS ON. THE WORD OF GOD MUST BE OUR ANCHOR

15. Urbanization – More likely to minister in a city hi-rise

apartment than in a rural setting.

16. Renewed interest in reaching internationals often from

unreached people groups that are living in US cities.

Other trends impacting global missions

16. Better understanding of world-view and

how sin is perceived in various cultures.17. Dramatic increase in

persecution of Christians

Vision of Coca-Cola Company:

“A can of Coke in the handof every person on the planet.”

How much more Jesus Christ?

That There Might Be Worshippers

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before

the throne and before the Lamb” Rev 7:9

Soli Deo Gloria