The Prodigal Continent

I was recently listening to one of my favorite podcasts (All Souls Church, Langham Place), when David Turner was sharing a message from the New Testament book of Acts concerning the state of Christianity in Europe, especially in relationship to the rest of the world. He cited Patrick Johnstone, one of the editors of the marvelous Operation World, as referring to Europe as the "prodigal continent," due to the post-Christian worldview that now exists throughout much of the continent.

Here are just a few tidbits of intriguing information I gleaned as I listened and took notes:

1. In the mid-20th century, the gospel really moved east and south. For the first time since the Reformation, 70% of the world's Christians live outside the West and North.

2. In 1900, there were 380 million Christians in Europe; there were less than 10 million in Africa. Today, there are 370 million Christians in Africa...that's 1/5 of the world's Christians.

3. Today there are more evangelicals in Nepal than in Spain.

4. The typical Christian is no longer an affluent, white, and British Anglican male around 45 years of age, but a poor black Pentecostal woman of around 25.

5. The largest congregation in Britain is a Pentecostal church led by a Nigerian.

6. The largest congregation in the world is probably in
South Korea--the Yoido Full Gospel Church
in Seoul--presently at 700,000 members. The church's origin can be traced back to 1958, when five people started meeting in a living room in South Korea.

7. The fastest growing church ever is thought to be the church in China, estimated at some 90 million believers.

Mr. Turner concludes his talk by saying this:

"...Europe is not what is was...Yes, Europe has a soul, a soul imbued by the Christian faith. But the neglect of that soul is meaning that it is shriveling...Europe today is a place of believing without belonging, or restlessness, or searching...it needs the Gospel again..."

I couldn't help but draw the comparison between Europe and the country where I live. We are probably pretty close, if not right where Europe is today when it comes to Christianity and the general value our culture places on the worldview and claims presented in the life, teachings, mission, work, and call of Christ.

Maybe C.S. Lewis was a little too prophetic with this pithy statement:

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."