DAWN Fridayfax 2000 #1

Worldwide

Statistics for the new millennium

(We know that the millennium really starts in 2001...)

Here is an extract from some figures for the year 2000 collected by American missions statistician David B. Barrett:

• of the global population of 6,091,351,000, 2,015,743,000 believe in Christianity in some form;
• 1.898 billion are members of Christian churches, 1.3 billion attend Christian services;
• 482 million belong to Pentecostal or Charismatic movements, some 680 million are 'Great Commission Christians';
• in the year 2000, 165,000 will probably be martyred for their faith;
• there are 24,000 missions organizations which collect some US$120 billion per year;
• the total income of all church members is around US$12,700 billion, of which $220 billion are spent on Christian purposes;
• there are 5,104,000 people in full-time ministry;
• the 4,000 Christian radio and TV stations reach a total of 2.15 billion people;
• 2 billion people live in poor urban areas, 1.3 billion of them in slums; - there are 4,100 cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, 410 cities with over 1 million;
• other religions and groups: 1.215 billion Muslims, 786 million Hindus, 774 million non-religious, 362 million Buddhists, 225 million members of tribal religions, 151 million atheists, 102 million 'new religious'.

Source: www.gem-werc.org

Worldwide

4 billion say 'God is very important'

Almost two thirds of the people interviewed in 60 countries by the American polling institute Gallup for its 'Millennium Survey' said that "God is very important for my personal life". That stands in start contrast to the subjective impression from Western media that religious beliefs are globally in rapid decline, and confirms that faith in God remains one of the most important factors influencing the entire population. 87% of those questioned claimed to belong to some religion, only 13% claimed to be without religion. 97% of the West African population indicated that God is very important for their lives, followed by Latin America (88%) and North America (82%). Europe (49%) and East Asia (47%) appear at the bottom of the list.
Source: Gallup

Russia

Mullah's supernatural conversion - becomes church planter

Mischa (not his real name) grew up near the Ural mountains among the Tatars and Bashkiris in a completely Islamic culture, attended a Koran school and served as a Mullah for three years. During that time, he already had 'uninterpretable dreams'. One of his friends left the Koran school because he had discovered Christianity, and Mischa also began secretly reading the Bible, but was shocked by rumors of human sacrifice in Christian services. Recently, Saggida, a church planter supported by the Swiss missions agency Kingdom Ministries, visited Mischa's home town, known as a spiritist and occult center, to plant a church. She experienced many difficulties, including the death of her daughter and son-in-law in a car accident. Mischa and many others said "It is Allah's anger". Mischa attended the funeral, determined to spread Islam during the coming anniversary celebrations in the young church. However, during the first sermon, he was overcome by some form of drunkenness and could say nothing. The drunkenness passed in time for the second sermon, but he began to shiver and shake and felt as though he was about to die. During the third sermon, he responded to the call to repent, despite being convinced that he was without sin. While praying, God revealed his sins to him. Mischa confessed his sins and called on Jesus; the strong back pains from which he had been suffering were immediately healed. As he later washed his hands, the tattooed words 'Allah u akhbar' were miraculously washed away. He then returned to his village, where he had a dream in which he was told "You are saved, and through you, your whole family and many of your people will be saved." Following a dream in which her deceased mother and Mischa appeared to her, Mischa's sister visited Mischa, who explained the Gospel to her. She was saved, as were other members of Mischa's family and friends. Mischa is now being trained as a church planter.
Source: Kingdom Ministries, fax (+41) 33 437 0016

Kenya

Healings and conversions on the street

In November 1999, Costa Mitchell, leader of the Vineyard movement in Africa, was attending seminars in Nairobi. Every day, he walked from his hotel to the conference center, preaching on various street corners. Every day, several people decided to follow Christ, including Muslims and Sikhs. "Mitchell offered to pray for the sick on the street," reports Marco Briotti from Johannesburg. "One day, a man whose knee had been stiff for several years was healed, so that he could move his knee normally and jump around. A woman deaf in one ear was healed, and could hear normally. One man who was saved one Monday through Mitchell's preaching, was standing on the street on Tuesday, preaching himself."
Source: Marco Briotti, Vineyard Johannesburg

Sweden

Equality among churches

The 500-year alliance between church and state in Sweden came to an end on 1 January 2000. The Lutheran church has been the Swedish state church since the 16th century, supported by taxes and allowing the state to influence the choice of bishops. "The church and state are going separate ways from 1 January," said Klas Hansson, a member of of the Archbishop's staff. "The growing influence of other Christian churches and Islam shows the importance of a pluralistic society," he says. "It is not fair for one church to have a special relationship with the state which others do not have. This is an attempt to create equality." Around 85% of Sweden's 8.9 million inhabitants are members of the Lutheran church.
Source: Swedish Lutheran Church

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