The state of the Great Commission today

December is here. We anticipate the arrival of Christmas. Many of us begin this month by observing Advent. Advent helps us reflect on what it means to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise in the coming of Christ.

This week, we ponder on hope. The prophet Isaiah announces a day when God’s servant will bring justice to the nations. The islands, the most remote places, will have an opportunity to place their hope in Him.

It is fitting that many of our churches also dedicate this month to learning about, praying for and giving to international missions. The coming of Christ made hope a reality for those who waited for him. And it makes hope accessible to those who do not know about it yet.

Many of our churches observe a season of prayer for international missions and promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Some of our churches also participate in other global missions enterprises including supporting their own missionaries or giving through the Texas Baptists Worldwide Offering and/or the Missionary Adoption Program (MAP), to name a few.

In a recent Baptist World Alliance webinar titled “The Great Commission: Lessons from Lausanne,” some very insightful information was shared about the state of the Great Commission today.

The number of Christians in the world is expected to grow from 2.17 billion in 2010 to 2.92 billion in 2050. The number of Muslims is expected to grow from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.76 billion in 2050, making Islam the fastest-growing religion of our time.

In 1900, 82% of Christians lived in the global north (381 million in Europe and 79 million in North America) and 18% in the global south (62 million in Latin America, 10 million in Africa, 22 million in Asia and 6 million in Oceania).

By 2020, 33% of Christians lived in the global north (565 million in Europe and 268 million in North America) and 67% of Christians lived in the global south (612 million in Latin America, 667 million in Africa, 379 million in Asia, and 28 million in Oceania), fulfilling what had been predicted.

Currently, there are approximately 450,000 global missionaries from various countries and denominations. Approximately 435,000 serve the 4.57 billion portions of the world considered “reached,” and 15,000 serve among the 3.34 billion in the people groups considered “unreached.” The disproportion is massive.

While much can be said about this information, allow me to add a few remarks:

1. The advancement of the Great Commission has barely kept up with population growth
2. The missionary investment from the global north to the global south has paid off!
3. The global north needs to collaborate with the global south for missionary sending
4. There is still much left to do to complete the Great Commission task
5. While unreached people groups remain a priority, the global north is a mission field
6. We need every disciple, every church, every state convention and every missionary enterprise to work together to complete the mission

Thank you for your prayers, your financial contribution to the Cooperative Program, your witness and your partnership for the sake of the Great Commission. Let’s do our best to make sure the most remote islands in the globe can have an opportunity to place their hope in Christ before the Second Advent.