Africa – The Blessing of a Hundred Years

Slides prepared by Chris Maynard 2011-08-04Chart and Maps from “Atlas of Global Christianity” 2010

Center for the Study of Global Christianity

Africa from a Global View

• How has the Christian World changed in 100 years?– How has Africa changed?

• In 1910 a World Missionary Conference– in Europe– No Africans

• In 2010 a world Evangelical Conference– In Africa– 100s of Africans

• Why?• The recent “Atlas of Global Christianity”

highlights changes from 1910 to 2010

Christians (% of population) 1910

Christians (% of population) 2010

Asia improvement in the

east

Latin America little change

Africa dramatic change

“The Global North” a slight decline

Note this map shows ALL Christians, so it hides a big shift from Catholics to Evangelicals in Latin

America

Some Observations• In the last 100 years the expansion in Africa

is THE major story in global Christianity

• European settlers and missionaries brought the spark, but Africans have done the work of the gospel

• As we see from the situation elsewhere, Christianity can decrease as well as increase. So let us give thanks to God for his grace to Africa over the last hundred years

Christians (% of population) 1910

Christians (% of population) 2010