David Field writes:
Evangelical defeatism is a failure of historical perspective. After all, the statistics are out there. It took 1400 years for 1% of the world’s population to become Christians, and then another 360 years for that to double to 2%. Another 170 years saw that grow from 2% to 4%, and then between 1960 and 1990 the proportion of the world’s population made up of Bible-believing Christians rose from 4% to 8%. Now, in 2007, a third of the world’s population confesses that Jesus is Lord and 11% of the world’s population comprises ‘evangelical’ Christians. The evangelical church is growing twice as fast as Islam and three times as fast as the world’s population. South America is turning Protestant faster than Continental Europe did in the sixteenth century. South Koreans reckon that they can evangelize the whole of North Korea within five years once that country opens up. And then there’s the Chinese church, consisting of tens of millions of Christians who have learned to pray, who have confidence in Scripture, who know about spiritual warfare, have been schooled in suffering and are qualified to rule. One day in the next century that church (tens of millions of Christians trained to die) will be released into global mission and our prayers for the fall of Islam will be answered.
Those are amazing statistics. Have they been somewhat validated? If they are accurate that is the best data set I have ever seen in my life.
I miss David Field. What is he up to?
Steve tells me he is blogging again and serving at the Church…not sure if he is teaching…indeed a very gifted writer.
Praise God!!!