Figures for the year 2000

World population: 6,118,958,932 According to the US Census Office, the world population on 31 December 2000 was just under 6.12 billon.

63% of the world population – 3.8 billion people – are under 34 years old Yesterday’s youth culture is becoming mainstream, with similar values, a common language (English) and a common communication medium (the Internet) around the globe.

11.1% of the world’s population know Jesus Christ According to missiologist Ralph Winter, only 1% of the world’s population had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in 1430. Today, there are some 680 million Evangelical Christians – people who started to follow Christ after a personal conversion. The rate of increase is around 7% per year, compared to around 2.6% for Islam.

Growth areas The strongest growth is currently in the following areas: – house churches: in many nations, Christians are again meeting in the most normal places, there where they live or spend most time: apartments, houses, huts, in the street, in squares, bars, cafes and offices. In an age of increasing individualism in religion, anti-institutionalism, growing rejection of religious bigotry, confessionalism and denominationalism, organic and loosely-organized forms of Christianity are experiencing a boom. – underground churches: underground churches, known only to insiders, are forming not only in China, Indonesia, Cuba and India, but also in the ‘social underground’ in the West. – youth churches and post-modern churches: churches planted by youths or post-modernists in the growing youth culture. In the USA alone, according to youth church expert Andrew Jones, some 5,000 such churches have been planted in the past 4 years. – cell churches: churches with a focus on discipling people in cell groups, and growth through cell multiplication. – indigenous churches: churches and movements led by nationals without outside intervention or startup help from other churches.

120 million evangelicals in China With a population of 1,262,556,787, of which between 4% and 12% are evangelical Christians, China has the world’s highest population and the highest number of Christians. Due to persecution, which gives rise to highly secret organisational structures, and the in some cases explosive growth dynamics of the house church movement, experts’ estimates range between 86 million and 150 million Christians in China.

99% can receive Christian radio Christian radio stations reach 99% of the world’s population.

8 out of 10 know who Jesus is Missiologists such as Patrick Johnstone estimate that between 75% and 85% of the world’s population have heard the gospel at least once.