PARKER: It’s the end of the world, and the church is doing just fine

A funny thing has happened on the way to Christianity’s funeral. It turns out the supposed corpse isn’t as dead as many have assumed. In fact, everywhere one looks one finds the church is not only exhibiting signs of life, but there is also evidence she is demonstrating a youthful vigour not seen in decades or perhaps centuries.You don’t believe me? Then how do you explain the following statistics gleaned by Lifeway Research from the Status of Global Christianity published by the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity? Despite four best-selling books published in the first decade of the 21st century by the so-called “Four Horsemen of the (Atheist) Non-Apocalypse” (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens,) it turns out that in this century’s third decade the number of atheists in the world is actually shrinking, from 165 million in 1970 to 146 million this year. And if the current trend holds, atheism will be represented by no more than 133 million in 2050.Not only is the number of atheists shrinking (numerically they have never been significant) but Christianity is growing at a respectable rate — 1.17% per year in 2022. By the middle of 2024 there will be 2.63 billion Christians and, at present rates of growth, more than 3.33 billion in 2050. For Canadian Christians who mourn the decline of the church in this nation, such statistics might seem like an exaggeration or even a falsehood. But that’s only because they haven’t reckoned with the reality that most Christian growth now occurs in the global south.As Lifeway author Aaron Earls reports, “In 1900, twice as many Christians lived in Europe than in the rest of the world combined. Today more Christians live in Africa than any other continent.” It doesn’t stop there. By 2050 Latin America (686 million) and Asia (560 million) will boast more Christians than either Europe (497 million) or North America (276 million).All this is being accomplished, by the way, in a world where a vanishingly small number of governments show any favour to the followers of Jesus, and where instead most governments oppose Christianity. Almost nowhere does the Christian receive favours for an open expression of faith and in most areas of the world, to confess Christ is to invite added difficulties, if not open persecution.Nevertheless, Christianity continues to expand throughout the world and as it does, the number of non-Christians who personally know a Christian also expands. According to the Global Christianity report, in 1900, only 5.4% of non-Christians were personally acquainted with a Christian. Today, 18.5% of the world’s population is acquainted with a Christian and that number is expected to rise by 2050 to one in five non-Christians (20%) who will know a Christian and thus have an opportunity to hear the gospel. It appears the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah got it right when he foresaw a day in which “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).But none of the growth described above could take place without untold numbers of people stepping forward to attempt great things for God. Consider, for example, Pastor Satish Kumar, who with two dozen people founded Calvary Temple in Hyderabad, India back in 2005. Today Calvary Temple has more than 300,000 members, with plans to build 40 more megachurches in the next ten years. To further extend its ministry the church produces 650 TV programs in 17 of India’s major languages. Additionally, the church is reaching surrounding nations, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Gulf countries, while millions more follow on social media.Pastor Kumar’s approach is simple. “Preaching the pure Word of God is what attracts people,” he says, “and practising the Word of God is what keeps people within the church.” He means what he says. Among other church ministries, including medical care that is either free or offered at vastly reduced costs, thousands of church volunteers work to feed more than 200,000 people each month.Such prominent displays of Christian faith have been met with violence from Hindu extremist groups who accuse Christians of forcibly converting people to Christianity. But Pastor Kumar is undaunted. “The more the persecution, the more the church grows,” he says. And he adds, “It’s my passion, my burden that before I die, I want to see (that) every Indian will hear the gospel and know the Saviour.”As Joelnews.org reported last year, evidence indicates that Pastor Kumar’s balanced approach is being rewarded wherever it is practised, including secular, de-Christianised Europe. Ironically, much of the new growth of the Christian church in Europe comes from the fruit of Catholic missionaries who long ago accompanied the conquistadors. Today, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking congregations are being planted, not just in Spain and Portugal, but all over the continent. In the same manner, thriving churches are being planted by expatriates from Africa and China.European church growth isn’t all coming from the outside. The National Council of French Evangelicals has set a goal of establishing an evangelical church for every 10,000 people and in recent years France has seen a new church plant every seven days. Like the Calvary Temple in India, all this effort is accompanied by prayer. Over the past 20 years, the 24/7 Prayer movement has resulted in 22,000 prayer rooms in 78 nations, with many in Europe.Unexpectedly, the Ukrainian conflict with Russia, so divisive politically, has had the opposite effect in the Christian world. Ministering to the needs in that war-torn nation has brought about what observers call “unprecedented collaboration” between mission agencies and churches, leading to a cooperative spirit now being evidenced all over Europe. Today this new-found unity is creating a new dynamism among youth ministries, with as many as 9,000 youths from all denominations meeting for last year’s The Send Norway, 13,000 teens and young adults coming together in Germany for Christival, and 3,000 university students from 68 nations coming together under the aegis of Revive Europe to pray for their peers.Meanwhile, just as many observers fear that Europe may be overrun by a rising tide of Muslim immigrants, France is experiencing an exponential growth in the number of converts from Islam to Christianity. In fact, so many Muslims are joining Roman Catholic churches that a special pastoral training program called Ananie has been set up to prepare priests on how to welcome these newcomers to their flocks. Nor is this turn from Islam to Christianity limited to Europe. In the book A Wind in the House of Islam, missionary David Garrison estimates that between two and seven million Muslims have converted to Christianity over the past two decades, a movement he calls “the greatest turning of Muslims to Christ in history.”But, someone may ask, what about Canada? Are there any signs of Christian renewal here? “It’s still too early to say revival is actually breaking out in Canada,” says Trevor Peacock, pastor of Redemption Church Calgary North and a board member with the Great Commission Collective and The Gospel Coalition Canada, organizations dedicated to church planting and renewal. But Peacock is certain that something is stirring in Canada. “We’ve seen a ton of unexpected growth at my own church,” he says. And he believes that his situation is not unique. “A lot more people are coming to Canadian churches,” he says, “and in a new way these people are genuinely looking for answers, seeking truth.” He adds, “Of the churches affiliated with the two councils I’m part of, I know of none that aren’t growing.”Peacock believes that issues surrounding COVID-19 and related governmental overreach have resulted in a “refining” of the church, meaning that those attending today are more intentional about their faith. “People know that they need to choose a side and be ‘all in,’” he says. “The result is that as the world has grown darker the church is shining brighter.” He is especially delighted that many of his people are “all in” for outreach. “What’s fun for me,” he says, “is how excited my people are when they come up to tell me, ‘I asked these people to come to church with me, and they came!’”Justin Brierley, author of The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, could be called the unofficial chronicler of the modern world’s turn from atheism to faith. He acknowledges that many statistics, at least in the west, “show an overall picture of continued decline of religiosity.” Nor is he unaware that many major denominations “have been in freefall for decades.” But he is encouraged by anomalies such as the doubling of church attendance among 18- to 29-year-old Finnish men between 2011 and 2019, and notes that “the same uptick applies to their prayer habits and belief in God.” He concludes, “As a Christian I believe things that are dead can come back to life. That’s the point of the story after all. As G. K. Chesterton wrote: ‘Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.’”Calgary-based Shafer Parker pastored churches for more than 40 years, and in retirement remains an activist apologist for Bible-based Christianity