The global church

The Global Church

The global church is the whole family of those who follow Jesus Christ, spread across almost every nation and worshipping in thousands of languages. By widely cited estimates it numbers roughly 2.4 billion people, making Christianity the largest and most globally spread religion on earth. Its center of gravity has shifted from Europe and North America toward Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Through all its diversity, one confession holds it together: Jesus Christ is Lord.

One Body, in every nation

The phrase the global church names a simple, staggering fact: the followers of Jesus are now found almost everywhere on earth, in nearly every nation and language. The New Testament calls this one reality the body of Christ, many members, one body.

The center has moved

For much of the last few centuries, the visible center of Christianity lay in Europe and North America. That has changed. Scholars of world Christianity, such as the late Andrew Walls and Philip Jenkins, have described how the faith's center of gravity has shifted decisively toward the global South. Today more Christians live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America than in the historic heartlands of the West. The typical Christian in the world now is as likely to be a Nigerian, a Brazilian, a Filipino, or a Chinese believer as a European.

Held together by one Lord

What makes this scattered multitude one is not a shared language, government, or culture, for it has none. It is a shared Lord. Across every tradition and tongue, Christians confess Jesus as Lord, and that confession is the thread that runs through the whole.

The traditions here

Around the world the one Body of Christ is expressed through many families of churches. Each carries real treasures of worship, service, and faithfulness. None of them is set here above or below another. They differ in language, in worship, and in some beliefs, and those differences are real, yet all confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and that shared confession is what makes them one.

The Catholic Church

The largest single communion, led by the Bishop of Rome, present on every continent and expressed through both the Latin rite and many Eastern Catholic churches.

Eastern Orthodoxy

The ancient churches of the Greek, Slavic, and other Eastern traditions, such as the Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and Antiochian Orthodox, keeping the liturgy and the councils of the first millennium.

Oriental Orthodoxy

The oldest churches of the East, including the Coptic (Egypt), Ethiopian and Eritrean, Armenian Apostolic, and Syriac Orthodox, each with its own ancient language, calendar, and rite.

Anglican and Episcopal churches

A worldwide communion born in England and now strongest in Africa, holding together sacramental worship and the open Bible.

Lutheran churches

Rooted in the Reformation of Martin Luther, strong in Germany and Scandinavia and, today, very numerous in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and across Africa and Asia.

Reformed and Presbyterian churches

The tradition of Calvin and the Reformation, from the Church of Scotland to large churches in Korea, Africa, and the Americas.

Baptist churches

Congregations gathered around believer's baptism and the local church, widespread across the Americas, Africa, and beyond.

Methodist and Wesleyan churches

Born in the revival of John Wesley, marked by warm-hearted faith and works of mercy, and now global.

Pentecostal and Charismatic churches

The fastest-growing stream, emphasizing the Holy Spirit, prayer, and healing, immense across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Evangelical and nondenominational churches

A wide family centered on the Gospel, the Bible, and personal faith in Christ, crossing many denominations.

African Independent (Initiated) Churches

Thousands of churches founded and led by Africans, such as the Aladura and Zion and Kimbanguist churches, giving African expression to the faith in Christ.

Countless local expressions

House churches, village congregations, minority communities, and new movements, in every language under heaven, each a real part of the one Body.

This is not a ladder to be climbed but a family to be loved. The apostle prayed that all who follow Jesus would be one, as he and the Father are one, so that the world might believe.

Find community

Reading about the church is good. Belonging to it is better. Here are honest doors into the living communities behind these words, and into a church near you.

Meet Jesus in your language

The Gospel has never belonged to one nation or one tongue. From the first day the Spirit came, people heard the wonderful works of God each in their own language, and that is still the heart of the church. Wherever you are, and whatever words you pray in, Jesus draws near.

More languages are opening over time. If your language is not here yet, the Gospel of John and an honest prayer in your own words are a good place to begin.

Frequently asked questions

What is the global church?

It is the whole family of those who follow Jesus Christ, spread across almost every nation and language. By widely cited estimates it numbers roughly 2.4 billion people, the largest and most globally spread religion on earth.

Has Christianity's center moved?

Yes. Scholars describe how the faith's center of gravity has shifted from Europe and North America toward the global South. Today more Christians live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America than in the historic Western heartlands.

What holds the global church together?

Not one language, government, or culture, but one Lord. Across every tradition and tongue, Christians confess Jesus as Lord, and that shared confession is what makes the many one Body (1 Corinthians 12:12).