THE REBIRTH OF CHRISTIANITY: THE GOSPEL BLOSSOMS IN THE EAST

In 2001, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor lamented: “Christianity almost beaten in Britain.” Indeed, secularism has eroded the Church’s presence in the West—church attendance in much of Europe hovers below 5–15%. Yet globally, Christianity is surging in the Global South (Africa, Latin America, Asia), promising a seismic shift in the faith’s center of gravity.

Philip Jenkins (The Next Christendom) notes: “The era of Western Christianity has passed within our lifetimes, and the day of Southern Christianity is dawning.”

Africa: 10 million Christians (1900) → 360 million (2000)

Uganda alone: >8 million Anglicans (vs. ECUSA’s 2.3 million)

70% of the world’s evangelicals now live outside the West

South Korea: ~300,000 believers (1920) → 10–12 million today

Author Philip Yancey observes: “God goes where He’s wanted.” Where churches remain biblically faithful, growth follows. Gene Edward Veith notes high attendance in conservative Catholic nations (Ireland 84%, Poland 55%)—versus collapse in liberal churches (U.S., Netherlands, Germany).

Yet challenges remain:

The 10/40 Window (North Africa to Japan) is home to 95% of the unreached—but receives only 5% of mission funding.

Islam is Christianity’s primary religious rival: by 2050, ~34% of the world will be Christian vs. ~23% Muslim—but competition may spark conflict. Jenkins warns of “a new age of Christian crusades and Muslim jihads… armed with nuclear warheads.”

Persecution is severe: In Pakistan, evangelizing a Muslim can carry the death penalty. In Sudan, Christians face bombings, rape, enslavement, and village burnings.

The future may see missionaries from Africa and Asia sent to the secular West. As Veith quips: “What we need now are missionaries from Africa to convert the heathen in Europe and America.”

Stranger things have happened.

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