The Worldwide Body

We are members of a worldwide body of Christ, and we can remember that Jesus is present and doing His work through His people around the globe. 1st Corinthians 12 reminds us of the scope of that body; it says:
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.

No matter what our cultural background, as Paul notes here, we recognize that Christ died for all, and He has brought us into a glorious Church, devoted to serving Jesus and bringing Him glory. We are recipients of His love and we have been empowered by His Spirit.  Those who have called upon the name of Christ and have been saved have one Lord, and as we keep our eyes on Him, He will draw us together and lead us where He desires for us to go.

+++++

The Bible reminds us that we are part of the body of Christ, and we can remember that body spans many parts of our world today. Peter writes in 1st Peter chapter 5:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

We commonly hear statistical analysis regarding the so-called "nones" who do not profess a specific religious faith, which would include those who would be considered atheist or agnostic. You might conclude that organized religion, including Christianity, is losing ground.

But, a new Lifeway Research survey, according to The Christian Post, has some encouraging news. The article states that:

Lifeway Research has identified “7 Encouraging Trends of Global Christianity in 2022” based on data collected by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at the Massachusetts-based Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Specifically, the data titled the 2022 Status of Global Christianity report, demonstrates that “religious faith is growing faster than the irreligious.”

The article relates that,"The data found that the population of 'religionists,' those who subscribe to a particular religion, grew at a rate of 1.27% between 2000 and 2022. By contrast, the number of atheists only grew at a rate of 0.18% in the same time period."

Lifeway also found, according to the Post, that, "The number of Christians worldwide increased 1.17% from 2000 to 2022."  Lifeway's summary states that "With a 1.17% growth rate, almost 2.56 billion people will identify as a Christian by the middle of 2022. By 2050, that number is expected to top 3.33 billion."

And, Christianity's growth is greater in the regions that comprise the so-called "Global South," consisting of "Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania." The most rapid growth, of over 2% is found on the continent of Africa.  The Christian Post article also says:

Currently, Africa is home to about 700 million Christians, while Asia has about 400 million, Latin America has roughly 600 million and approximately 29 million reside in Oceania. The growth in Christianity in the global south is expected to continue into 2050. By then, about 1.3 billion Christians are projected to live in Africa, along with more than half a million residing in Asia, nearly 700 million in Latin America, and about 35 million in Oceania.

The Christian population is becoming more widespread, as well, according to the Christian Post article, which states: "...while there are more Christians worldwide, these Christians are spread out among more countries. The percentage of Christians who live in a country where Christianity is the majority religion decreased from 59% in 2000 to 53.7% in 2022. By 2050, the study estimates that most Christians (50.4%) will live in a country where Christianity is not the dominant religion."

There are several takeaways I wanted to share with you.  For one thing, we can admit that we serve a big God.  He is at work around the world, and people are responding to His invitation to follow Him. Christianity continues to be a potent force in the world today.  And, it's a big world.  It can be easy to interpret the impact of Christianity based on our experience in America, but we can recognize that God is working through His people throughout the world.  

Plus, we can remember that we are not alone in our service to the Lord - we are part of a vibrant body of Christ, giving testimony to the love and power of God.  We literally have spiritual brothers and sisters everywhere, and we can pray and encourage others who are involved in serving Him.