These are exciting days for the Christian church, although the most exciting things are happening in Africa and Asia rather than the U.S. and Europe, according to Lamin Sanneh, a Professor of Missions and World Christianity at Yale University. Sanneh was the morning plenary speaker on the final day of the What Next Conference, a prayer and missions gathering convened here in Madison to mark the bicentennial of the Haystack Prayer Meeting, that launched the North American Missions movement.
Speaking in Saturday morning’s plenary at HighPoint Church, Sanneh talked about numbers, and the fact that Islam and Christianity are both growing, although Christianity still has the largest numbers. By 1985 the number of Christians in Africa outnumbered Muslims in Africa for the first time in history. Hinduism and Buddhism have remained relatively stable throughout the 20th century.
In 1992, he noted, 25 million people changed religious affiliation worldwide. Eighteen million changed to Christianity and seven million defected from Christianity. The rate of attrition in the Lutheran Church in Germany, he said, was quite pronounced. In Europe, more people left the Catholic church during the time of Pope John Paul II than at any other time in history. And, more people joined the Catholic church outside of Europe, than at any other time in history.
In 1992, he noted, 25 million people changed religious affiliation worldwide. Eighteen million changed to Christianity and seven million defected from Christianity. The rate of attrition in the Lutheran Church in Germany, he said, was quite pronounced. In Europe, more people left the Catholic church during the time of Pope John Paul II than at any other time in history. And, more people joined the Catholic church outside of Europe, than at any other time in history.
Sanneh himself well represents these amazing statistics. He was born into a Muslim family in Gambia, West Africa. Today he is the D. Willis James Professsor of Missions and World Christianity and Professor of History at Yale University. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church.
Echoing the presentation by Andrew Walls from the previous evening, Sanneh said that Christianity has become a religion of the southern hemisphere and eastern Asia. He spent considerable time discussing the Christian church in China, noting its surprising growth after the decline of Maoism. The government is still trying to keep control over the church, but rapid modernization is stressing country and challenging the Christian communities. The rapid pace is also creating fertile ground for the messages of salvation.
Sanneh referred to David Aikman’s book, Jesus in Beijing, which suggests that Christianity will become a major intellectual force in China as more and more people become Christians, remolding the world view of the dominant elites. He also suggests that a strong, Christian, China, will help the west confront Islam. "China will be well endowed to to take a leadership role in the western world," he says.
Turnout for the What Next Conference was disappointingly slim. Despite an outstanding lineup of workshops and plenary speakers, only about 100 people availed themselves of this opportunity. However, we will all have the opportunity to experience the conference on the What Next website, where audio and video will be archived in the weeks ahead.