Ready for some good news this Christmas? According to Leonard Sweet, a renowned missiologist, there are more Christians in China than there are people in the United States. The largest officially atheist country is (because so many people are coming to Christ) soon becoming the largest Christian nation!
Let that sink in.
There will be more people celebrating Christmas in China than in the United States. I’m not sure that they will all have Christmas trees. They might not all go out caroling in their neighborhood. They might not be able to express their faith as openly as you and I, but God is on the move in China. Praise the Lord!
It’s not just China. Africa is booming with those turning to Christ too. At the turn of the 20th century, there were about 10 million Christians on the continent of Africa,. Today, there are 734 million followers of Jesus in Africa. Simultaneously, atheism, which peaked around 1970 with 165 million adherents on the planet, is on the decline. Their numbers are falling from 147 million in 2020 to 146 million in 2024.* Praise the Lord, again!
In some of the most troubled hot spots in the world, with wars, famines and displaced people groups, God is still working. People are still responding to the Gospel. In spite of danger and difficulties, people are coming to Jesus!
Sometimes we look around at empty churches in the United States and think that is the way it is around the world. Not so! God is working. We in the United State simply need to get on board with the rest of the world. Stop fighting about our differences and start focusing on the Difference Maker. All across our spinning globe, people in different languages and from different tribes and traditions will celebrates the birth of our Lord this week. In fact, more people are claiming Christ than ever before in the history of the world!
There are plenty of troubling statistics concerning death and destruction. There are plenty of things over which to grieve. Turn on the evening news, and you might only hear bad news. But there is good news about the Good News! As we gather this Christmas and sing “O come All Ye Faithful” rejoice in the good news that there are more faithful people coming to Jesus than ever before! There is Joy in the world. The Savior is still coming and changing lives!!
*According to the Study of Global Christianity of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
My Two Cent Offering 
Wow! Pastor Rob, I am amazed at those numbers! I really had no idea there is that much growth in “Christ followers”! Praise God and thank you for sending that uplifting message!🙏🏻 Merry Christmas to you and yours, Jack Wagner
Sent from my iPad
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