The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity

I recently read, "The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity," by Philip Jenkins which in published by Oxford University Press. Jenkins is a professor of history at Penn State University. I have read another of his books in the past, "Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way," which is probably one of the finest books at showing the absurdity of the Jesus Seminar methodology. His books are written somewhat for a more professional then popular audience. I would describe his theology as more liberal then Baptist.

"The Next Christendom" is a startling book. It was full of shocks and surprises to my standard thought process. Jenkins meticulously documents how in the next century, if current trends continue, Christianity will not only grow in raw numbers globally but also as percentage of the increasing world population. This entails a shift of the Christian epicenter from "the North" to "the South," with incredible increases in Africa, South America and Asia. Also, if the trends continue, by 2050 there will be over 1 billion pentecostals worldwide.

Anyone interesting in the trends and health of Christianity worldwide should read this book.

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/77277404?item_no=46166&event=SRC

 

rsr,

I agree with your assessment about missions. It is unquestionably an area that needs to be re-evaluated.

One area that the book covers is that but for immigrants from the Southern Hemisphere, there would be even lower attendance in European churches. In England, for instance, Jenkins documents that some of the only growing churches are those of African Christian immigrants. Their pastors are worried about how to bring white Britons into their fold comfortably. They are providing outreach to the unchurched there.

Again, it's an incredibly important book.

 

Robert,

One of the statistics Jenkins referenced in his book concerning England had to do with teenagers. The survey done showed that over 50% of teenagers in England didn't even believe that Jesus was a historical person.

This reflects that atheistic evangelism is going on in England as this is a radical academic view. I fear this type of evangelism is going on in our country via the Jesus Seminar among others.

Do you find this to be the case during your evangelism?

Also, one of our Baptist Colleges locally here in St. Louis, did send missionaries to Great Britain. They reported back that times were desperate for Christianity there.

We'll pray for your efforts and pray for our country as well.