The World Tour

Here's the statistics I shared on Sunday morning both concerning the incredible church growth and significant persecution going on in our world:

The Church Worldwide:

• On average, 178,000 people are converted to Christianity daily.
• Of 50 largest churches in the world, 0 are found in North America.

In Latin America:

• Daily, 35,000 conversions occur.
• There were 50,000 believers reported in 1900.
• By 1980 there were more than 20 million believers.
• Today there are over 480 million believers.
• There is a church in Santiago, Chile has 150,000 members.

In Africa:

• There are 20,000 conversions daily.
• 40% of Africa is now said to be Christian.
• Churches in Ivory coast has 150,000 members, Lagos, Nigeria has 120,000.

In Iran:

• More people have come to know the Lord in the past 10 years than in the previous 1,000 years combined!
• There are reports of a house church movement the likes China experienced when it became a closed to missionaries.

In Indonesia:

• The largest Islamic country in the world.
• At least 1 million people convert to Christianity every year.

In Korea:

• In 1900, Korea was deemed impossible to penetrate with the gospel.
• Today, South Korea is reported to be more than 40% Christian, with more than 7,000 churches in Seoul alone.
• Yoido Full Gospel Church, in Seoul Korea, has 253,000 members. It is the world’s largest church.

In China:

• Approximately 28,000 conversions occur daily.
• When China became a closed to missionaries in 1950, there were reportedly a million Christians there.
• Today’s estimates are as many as 100 million.

In India:

• Our partners in Northern India have been placed in a spot where they are able to make their way into 3 “closed” countries… Banglidesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Lord is adding to their number daily.
• In Orissa state, our partners are facing significant persecution.

PERSECUTION WORLDWIDE:

• 43 million+ Christians have been killed for their faith since the crucifixion of Jesus.
• More Christians have been martyred in the 20th Century than in all the prior 1,900 years combined.
• There have been more than 26 million documented cases of martyrdom in this century alone.
• 200+ million Christians in 60+ nations face persecution each day, 60% of these are children.
• 150,000-165,000 are martyred each year.

The majority of these stats are from David Livermore's book Serving with Eyes Wide Open... a great read for anyone thinking to go on or lead a short term missions trip.