Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission: 1985

1 Annual Statistical Table on Global mission : 1985 David B. Barrett Introduction The Table opposite is the first of an Annual series. It is a brief, ab breviated, quick-reference, Statistical summary of the present sta tus, in the year 1985, of the Christian world mission in its totality. It views this mission under sixty different criteria or indicators or variables. It depicts the broad sweep of Global mission over the years by setting the 1985 data (in bold type) in the context of the twentieth century. This is done by giving three earlier years of ref erence (1900, 1970, 1980), and a later one ( 2000, with esti mates based on present long-term trends). The Century of Massive Growth (lines 1-17) The twentieth century would have startled all earlier Christian ob servers by the sheer magnitude of its numerical increase.

2 Just about every category has experienced uncontrolled growth since the year 1900: population (line 1, opposite), children, city dwellers "What totally new surprises .. can God have in store for the world of the twenty-first century?" (line 2), literates (line 5), refugees, the blind, the poor, the hungry and starving (now over billion in number). Urban dwellers in crease by a million a week. Psychotics at present number over 45 million, psychoneurotics over 800 million. For the Christian who cares about God's world, and His mission in it, it has already be come a Global nightmare. The great non-Christian world religions share in this growth too. Muslims (line 8) increase by 17 million a year, Hindus (line 10) by 12 million, Buddhists (line 11) by 4 million.

3 By virtue of their location in countries with high fertility, Islam and Hinduism are also growing in percent of world population, while Christianity is decreasing very slightly proportionately, though increasing in ab solute numbers (line 7). East Asia as a Powerhouse (line 31) China is the country to watch here. Line 31 presents a conserva tive scenario. But if the growth in China's Christians evident at present continues, it may soon reverse the Global trend and make Christianity also a proportionately expanding world religion. The 1984evidenceis notyetconclusive. In 1980the WorldChristian En cyclopedia (WCE) estimated the total of evangelized persons in China (persons aware of Christianity, Christ, and the gospel) at 258 million but with known baptized members of known churches conservatively estimated at 0~~~~:800,~,OO ~pp.

4 23~,' 23~, 7;8;~810). L rI,' !,~) -'tv t"(fJ ~j 1,1 \,.:4 ~4-!~'j'-{ l DavidB. Barrett, a contributing editor, ';~;v~s ~ith' th~ Ch urch MissionarY Society in EastAfrica, wherehe is ResearchOfficer, Churchof theProvinceofKenya, and for the AnglicanConsultative Council, and the Lambeth Conference. The World Christian Encyclopedia, whichheedited, waspublishedin 1982. Since then, serious estimates of the size of China's burgeoning house-church movement have mushroomed, first to 15 million, then to 50 million, then to 75 million, and now to 98 million. Clearly such claims cannot refer in their entirety to newly baptized members (No Communist party in power would tolerate such cat aclysmic overt church growth!}

5 A large proportion must be seek ers, inquirers, sympathizers, the interested, the attracted, the influenced, the fascinated, the almost persuaded-what the WCE calls "evangelized non-Christians" who know about Christ and the gospel but who have not yet taken the step of commitment. Such enormous numbers would obviously overturn the conserv ative estimates here (line 31) for East Asia (China, Japan, Korea). By A. D. 2000, East Asia would then have become a major center of dynamic Christianity-perhaps the major Christian Global pow erhouse of the twenty-first century. And all this with little or no active help from most strands of Western Christianity-except prayer. Growth in Global Ministries (lines 38--58) The twentieth century has also seen a phenomenal mushrooming of Christian resources and ministries.

6 Service agencies (para church organizations, line 38) have increased twelvefold from 1,500 in 1900 to 19,300 today: Christian institutions, tenfold (line 40). The fifteenfold increase in Christian stewardship of money (line 44) is not nearly so spectacular because the United States dol lar of 1900 was equivalent to $11 today. We note further that par achurch income (line 46) is rapidly overtaking denominational income (line 45). Literature and Scripture ministries (lines 50-54) have all risen phenomenally. So, of course, has the ministry of Christian broadcasting-from absolutely nothing in 1900to a total regular audience for Christian programs of 2,150 million projected for 2000.

7 What totally new surprises of this type, completely unknown and unexpected, can God have in store for the world of the twenty-first century? Progress in World Evangelization (lines 59-60) The last two lines attempt to measure progress with the unfin ished task of world mission , at least by one criterion. Everything depends here on what definitions we espouse. If we adopt the narrower definition that only Christians can be called evangelized (or the even narrower one that only active, committed, believing Christians can be termed evangelized), then progress, on this cri terion, is nil. Line 18 then gives us the progress of world evange lization, and the unfinished task becomes 100 percent minus the percentages on that line.

8 No progress has occurred across the twentieth century; there is even a small decline. But this "high-church" measure of evangelization counts only Christians or church members. It ignores the massive in creases since 1900 in the whole vast range of resources and min istries just described (lines 3&-58).'A measure that includes all these is defined in WCE, parts 3,5,6, and 9. This yields the figures in lines 59 and 60. This method demonstrates the very considera ble progress that there has been across the twentieth century in terms of reducing the magnitude of the unfinished task. 30 International Bulletin of Missionary Research status OF Global mission , 1985, IN CONTEXT OF 20TH CENTURY1900197019801,619,886,8003,610,03 4,4004,373,917,500232,694,9001,354,237,0 001,797,479,0001,387,191,9002,255,797,40 02,576,438,5001,025,938,0002,245,227,300 2,698,396,900286,705,0001,437,761,9001,7 74,002,700739,233,000807,465,400924,394, 200 WORLD POPULATION1.

9 Total POPULATIONBY (total all kinds) religionistsGLOBAL BY (non-Roman) Catholics,"MEMBERSHIP BY (foreign missionaries)CHRISTIAN FINANCE (in $,per year) incomeof church to Churches' and institutional of Global foreign missionsGiving per church member per all Global foreign missionsCHRISTIAN commercial book titlesper titlesincluding periodicalsSCRIPTUREDISTRIBUTION (all sources) yearCHRISTIAN radioffV Christian secularstationsWORLD as%of worldYear:19854,781,124,0002,053,544,000 2,727,580,0002,939,432,0001,960,103,1009 79,328,90020006,259,642,0003,160,381,900 3,099,260,1003,808,564,3002,697,595,1001 ,110,969,200558,056,3001,216,579,4001,43 2,686,5001,548,592,2002,019,921,400200,1 02,200550,919,000722,956,500817,065,2001 ,200,653,0002,923,300543,065,300715,901, 400805,784,9001,071,888,400203,033,30046 5,784,800582,749,900647,567,500859,252,3 00127,159,000231,672,200273,715,600295,5 70,800359,092,100225,600165,288,500195,1 19,400210,643,500262,447,600106,339,6008 8,077,40089,963,50091,130,400100,535,900 5,910,00076,443,10096,021,800106,317,600 138,263,80012,269,80015,185,90016,938,20 017,838,10020,173,6002,960,60010,612,200 14,244,40016,149,90023.

10 831,700400,907,100246,406,600233,620,300 224,463,900203,582, ,563,2001,131,809,6001,323,389,7001,425, 927,3001,844,614,200\ \J469,259,800884,021,8001,018,355,3001,0 90,348,4001,330,325,100 1,587,70011,005,39016,759,70038,861,500 ..3,572,40055,699,70070,395,00078,184,80 0106,208,70030,573,70047,557,00049,804,0 0051,100,10061,037,200276,0003,134,4003, 439,4003,600,9004,334,100927,60010,830,2 0014,077,50015,770,80024,106,2007,743,10 058,702,00082,181,10094,797,600154,140,4 00115,897,700143,402,500160,737,900169,6 48,700199,819,000103,056,700233,424,2002 62,157,600277,914,100345,709,100266,419, 400672,319,100802,660,000872,104,7001,13 2,541,5008,756,400115,924,200164,571,000 191,080,700323,914,9001,763,00010,050,20 016,149,60019,333,30027,560,300273,788,4 00397,108,700403,177,600406,235,000411,4 48,70060,025,100262,027,800340,978,60038 3,250,800555,486,00059,569,700169,246,90 0178,892,500183,852,300201,265,2004,311, 40014,669,40016.