Christian History · Timeline

The Global Church Today

In the last century Christianity became the largest and most globally distributed faith in human history. The era opened with the Azusa Street revival and the birth of Pentecostalism, was tested by the resistance of the Confessing Church under Nazism, and has been transformed by the explosive growth of the church in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Today some 2.4 billion Christians follow Jesus on every continent on earth.

The great story of the modern church is the shift of its center of gravity. For a long time Christianity was pictured as a Western religion; today the typical Christian is far more likely to live in Lagos, São Paulo, Manila, or Seoul than in London or Rome. In China the church has grown to tens of millions despite decades of pressure, and across the global South it is flourishing.

It has also been an age of costly witness and cautious reconciliation, from Bonhoeffer’s stand against Hitler to the 1999 accord between Catholics and Lutherans on the doctrine that once divided them. The church that began with a frightened few in an upper room now spans the earth, moving toward the vision of Revelation 7:9, a multitude from every nation gathered around the Lamb.

The timeline

• 1906 to 1909
  The Azusa Street Revival
  A humble revival in Los Angeles gives rise to modern Pentecostalism, now hundreds of millions strong across the globe.
• AD 1910
  The Edinburgh Missionary Conference
  A landmark gathering that helps launch the modern ecumenical movement.
• 1934 to 1945
  The Confessing Church and Bonhoeffer
  German Christians resist Nazism. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is executed for his faith and conscience.
• AD 1948
  The World Council of Churches
  Churches across the traditions form a body for cooperation and dialogue.
• AD 1949
  Billy Graham and mass evangelism
  Graham’s Los Angeles crusade begins a ministry that will reach hundreds of millions.
• 1962 to 1965
  The Second Vatican Council
  The Catholic Church renews its worship and its engagement with the modern world.
• 1949 to today
  The explosion of the church in China
  Despite decades of persecution, Christianity grows dramatically in China, now home to tens of millions of believers.
• late 20th century
  The center of gravity shifts to the global South
  Africa, Asia, and Latin America become the heartlands of world Christianity.
• AD 1999
  The Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration
  Catholics and Lutherans find significant agreement on justification, the very issue that sparked the Reformation.
• Today
  The largest, most global faith on earth
  Some 2.4 billion Christians on every continent. The church that began with a few disciples now fills the world (Revelation 7:9).

The thread through it all

Read the whole story and one thing becomes plain: through every century, every council and controversy, every rise and fall of empires, one Person holds it together. The church has been divided, persecuted, corrupted, and renewed, and yet it has never once disappeared, because it was never finally ours to keep. Jesus said he would build it, and he has.

Frequently asked questions

How many Christians are there in the world today?

There are roughly 2.4 billion Christians worldwide, making Christianity the largest religion on earth and the most evenly distributed across the continents.

Where is Christianity growing fastest today?

In the global South, especially sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. The church in China has grown to tens of millions of believers despite decades of restriction.

What was the Azusa Street revival?

A revival in Los Angeles from 1906 to 1909 that gave rise to modern Pentecostalism, now one of the fastest-growing streams of Christianity, numbering in the hundreds of millions.