Africa’s Amazing Christian Growth

According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, in 2018, Africa, for the first time, had the most Christians compared to any other continent - 631 million. Indeed, not all of these Christians in Africa are evangelicals or born again. But in Africa more people identify with Jesus Christ than any other continent. Asia, on the other hand, has the lowest percentage of Christians, just 9%.

The growth of Christianity in Africa is quite amazing when placed in historical perspective. In 1910, at the time of the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, Africa was 9.4 percent Christian. Now it is 45% Christian.

Dr. Peter Brierley, Co-Catalyst for Research with the Lausanne Movement, further elaborates on the growth of Christianity in Africa. He shared the following graph at Lausanne Global Workplace Forum in June 2019. This compares the growth rates of Global Christian Adherents (the green line) and the Global Population (the red line). The green line tracks the growth of Global Christian Adherents. The Red line shows Global Population. Thus, it appears that the number of Global Christian Adherents shall grow faster than the world’s population. Good News, no? But wait. Look what happens when Africa’s Christian adherents (the brown line) are separated from the rest of Global Christian Adherents (the blue line). The growth rate of Global Christians less Africa drops below the rate of Global Population growth.

By comparison, the amazing growth of Christian adherents in Africa becomes apparent. Christianity is growing +2.6% per annum in Africa compared to a slight decline globally, – 0.4%. Elsewhere Brierley points out, “The global church grows annually by 29 million Christians (or Christian adherents), and 14 million of these are across the continent of Africa.” “Half of the Christian growth in the world is in the continent of Africa!” This, he concludes, is the “fruit of much sacrificial missionary work in previous centuries.”

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, observing the population and Christian growth trends for Africa in the 21st century, concludes that “Africa is critical for the future of global Christianity.”

One of the ways Africans will influence the future of Christianity is through migration. Already Sub-Saharan African nations account for eight of the 10 fastest growing international migrant populations since 2010, and the number of African migrants from is expected to increase in the coming decades. We anticipate that Africans Christians with “apostolic passion,” to quote Floyd McClung, will migrate to places where the Church needs revival or establish churches where there are none, perhaps taking the Gospel “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

What are the implications of these demographic trends for world missions? In particular what may be implications for church planting, leadership, discipleship, ministry to children and youth, mission mobilization, and diaspora ministry?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.