GLOBAL MISSION TRENDS

The Great Shift Acceleration of Bible Translation

% of all Christians in % of all Christians in Latin
Year
Europe and North America America, Africa, Asia
1800 99% 1%
1900 82% 18%
1979 50% 50%
2020 33% 67%
For every one new believer in North America and Europe
there are nearly 16 new believers in developing countries
like Nigeria, Brazil, India and China.

The New Testament has been translated into the mother tongue of
over 90% of the world’s population. However, over 2,000 languages
still need Bible translations to even begin.

Growing Absolute Number of Non-Believers

The new faces of the Body of Christ

Receivers Becoming Senders

Non-Believers
Rise of African, Asian and Latin American missionaries.

More non-Christians alive today than at any other time in history.

Evangelical Growth:
Emphasis on Partnership Globally Outpacing, US Lagging
3.0%
• Importance of both West and Global South missions efforts 2.6% 2.6%
• Not a passing of the baton, but a cooperative equal partnership.
• Often West providing expertise, training and innovation and Global
Annual Growth Rate

2.0% 1.9% 1.9%

South providing manpower, cultural-nearness and zeal. 2.0%
• Emergence of international mission teams.
1.3%
1.2% 1.2% 1.2%
Good at Engaging, Poor at Reaching 1.0%
1.0%
0.8%
0.5%

0.0%

Global (solid) United States (striped)

Globally – Evangelicals growing faster than all major religions

Unengaged unreached people groups (UUPGs) population shrunk from 9% of
United States – all major religions growing faster than Evangelicals.
world’s population in 2005 to about 3% in 2015. Great! Unreached people
groups (UPGs) – the combined striped and solid red portions of the charts –
only declined from 43% in 2005 to 42% in 2015. Not so good! Other Global Trends
Lack of pastoral training – 95% of pastors
Plateaued Global Missionary Workforce (2.2 million) have no formal training.
Year Cross-cultural, long-term missionaries
Need for audio Bibles, storying and non-book
2000 420,000 training – 60% of world are oral learners.
2020 450,000
Only .35% annual growth rate. Urbanization – Urban population reached
Percentage wise sending fewer missionaries. over 56% of world in 2020 and is growing.

September 2020 Sources: Joshua Project, Operation World, Atlas of Global Christianity, Jesus Film Project, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Frontier Ventures, Mission Frontiers