GEOGRAPHY

The world's six continents — as defined by the United Nations. In this book we have followed this classification with one exception — Cyprus is included in Europe.

Area 135,488,200 sq.km. Antarctica, with 14 million sq. km, is not included. There are 237 states and territories described in this book.

The world's population doubled between 1960 and 2000. Global population growth peaked around 1970 and has steadily declined since then — largely through smaller family size and, increasingly, AIDS in Africa.

Cities There are 482 cities of over 1 million inhabitants and 20 of over 10 million. The five largest conurbations: Tokyo/Yokohama 28 mill.; Mexico City 18.1m; São Paulo 7.7m; New York 16.6m. Urbanites 48%.

PEOPLES

In the World Christian Encyclopedia there are approximately 12,000 ethnolinguistic peoples within the nations of the world — trans-national peoples being counted multiple times. The Joshua Project II listing (which also includes ethno-cultural peoples for which specific church planting might be needed) has 16,000 names. We have used the former classification in our summaries and the latter in our coverage of such countries as India with its complex caste system.

Languages The ministry envisaged helps define the boundary between a language and a dialect. The total numbers, therefore, vary.

The Ethnologue (with Bible translation in view) 7,148.

The World Christian Encyclopedia: 13,511 and 30,000 dialects.

Largest languages (mother tongue): Chinese (Putonghua) 1,000 million; English 350 mill.; Spanish 336m; Hindi-Urdu 263m; Arabic 248m; Bengali 217m; Portuguese 184m; Japanese 128m; German 106m.

Official languages — populations in countries with: English 1,895m; Chinese 1,290m; Spanish 373m; French 289m; Arabic 242m; Portuguese 215m; Russian 207m; Turkic 130m; German 110m. Not all in these countries speak the official language

Languages with Scriptures 383Bi 987NT 891por 672w.i.p.

ECONOMY

The global economy expanded considerably during the 1990s — the major motor for growth being the expansion of the US economy and, to a lesser extent, the EU. Japan stagnated and in 1998 the Asian 'tiger' economies suffered a sharp recession from which they are slowly recovering. Poorer countries generally became poorer and relief of crippling national debt became a global issue. Global warming, population growth and ecological degradation helped to multiply the frequency and intensity of natural disasters.

POLITICS

The collapse of European Communism and the ending of the Cold War in 1989-91 radically changed global politics. The impact of ideology waned and that of ethno-centrisms and religions increased. Various forms of democracy and market economics became more widespread. The coalescing of continental groupings of nations into economic trading blocs is counter-balanced by many nations being threatened by ethnic fragmentation.

RELIGION

The 20^th Century was a time of dramatic shifts in religious profession. Religious freedom increased in former Communist-ruled nations, but decreased in the latter in the 1990s as national religions sought to marginalize or suppress all minorities. There are 66 nations and states which have significant restrictions on religious belief.

*Only religions with a growth rate of over 1.39% are increasing faster than the world's population.

This table shows the breakdown of the world's countries by continent and the predominant religion.

The Orthodox and Catholics are declining as a percentage of the world's population, but the Protestants and Anglicans are growing slowly (mainly because of growth in the non-Western world). The Marginal megabloc (mainly JWs and Mormons) grew substantially from under one million followers in 1900 to 41 million in 2000. It is the growth of newer 'post-denominational' churches and networks that has characterized the 20^th Century with a bewildering variety of expressions of Christianity. This Independent megabloc has grown from 7 million in 1900 to well over 300 million in 2000. Many are independent Evangelical, Pentecostal and charismatic denominations and networks. There are also a number of break-aways from all megablocs as well as indigenous, sometimes syncretistic, movements.

The following diagram illustrates this change over the 20^th Century and projection to 2025 if present trends continue.

Answers to Prayer

The visual media have eroded the faith of believers in God's sovereignty in the world. Television cameramen, like vultures, swoop on the wars, famines, disasters and tragedies of this world. The beautiful, wholesome and good is less photogenic, so what God does and what God's servants are achieving are rarely noticed. Like Elisha's servant (2 Kings 6) we need our eyes opened to see reality.

The view from a heavenly vantage point is very different! There is a titanic struggle going on in the heavenlies between the forces of the Lord Jesus and the hosts of darkness and the effects in our world are dramatic. Yet the victory has already been won on the cross. So here and in subsequent sections of the book we begin with answers to prayer — especially those from the 1990s.

1 The unprecedented harvest being won in Africa, Asia and Latin America (AfAsLA) in contrast to the stagnation in North America and the Pacific, and the decline in Europe (EuNAPa). The tables and graphs below reveal a remarkable story. The table of statistics shows the relative change of the world's population for each of the six megablocs. The graph beside the table reveals that though Chrstianity's percentage in the world population has changed little, the proportions between EuNAPa and AfAsLA have changed dramatically.

Christianity has slightly declined as a percentage of the world's population — only the Marginals with some increase and the Independent/Indigenous megabloc with major increases have gone against this trend. This conceals an astonishing shift of the centre of gravity of Christianity to the non-Western world. Note the growth in proportions of each megabloc in AfAsLA:

Christianity is now truly a global religion once more — a status it lost 12 centuries ago.

2 The expansion of Evangelicals since 1960. They numbered 84.5 million (2.8%) in 1960, but in 2000 they were 420 million (6.9%). The growth rate peaked around 1990 at 5.6%. The graph below shows the remarkable growth rate between 1975 and 2000. We give projected growth rates to 2025 with the likelihood that this momentum would not be maintained without a significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The post-war surge of evangelical missions was an astonishing success story, but most of the subsequent growth came from a new generation of indigenous evangelical movements around the world.

3 The spread of Pentecostalism has been astonishing. After its birth around the beginning of the 20^th Century, Pentecostal denominations grew and proliferated. The most significant growth has been since 1960 from about 11 million worldwide to 116 million in 2000 and an average growth rate of around 7%. See the graph above.

4 The huge impact of the Charismatic movement on almost every denomination and megabloc. These figures include both First Wave Pentecostal denominations, Second Wave mainline denominations and also newer independent post-denominational networks. Figures are at best reasonable, but low, estimates. Those shown here indicate the size of this movement: 1990 — 181 million; 1995 — 261 million; 2000 — 345 million. See the graph above.

5 The strength and growth of the Church in lands that have, or have had, severe persecution — such as Ethiopia, Sudan, China, Korea, India and a number of Muslim lands.

6 The manifest failure of human ideologies, which became more obvious in the 1980s and '90s.

a) The collapse of Communism as a global threat, and the bankruptcy of atheism has caused significant turning to Christ in answer to prayer.

b) Fundamentalist Islam has gained in political power and its ability to cause havoc in the world through subversion and sometimes terrorism, but has lost credibility in the minds of many Muslims (many of whom are becoming secularized). As a result, many have become more open to the gospel and to receive Christ despite the danger. The last 15 years has been a time of more Muslims coming to Christ than ever before in history. There are the beginnings of what we believe could be a flood — demonstrating that Jesus is Lord even over Islam.

c) The Buddhist world has long proved a tough challenge with few major breakthroughs, but the rising tide of interest and concern for the Buddhist heartlands of Tibet and Mongolia is bearing fruit. Mongolia has opened and Tibet is increasingly surrounded — north, south and east — by an active Christian witness. Communism has been a means of preparing many Asian Buddhist cultures for the coming of the gospel.

7 The globalization of the world missions movement. Since 1980 there has been a surge of interest and involvement. The world missions force is now multi-cultural and multi-national.

a) The USA still remains the largest foreign missionary-sending nation, but South Korea has replaced the UK as the second after the USA.

b) India's missionary movement has grown enormously even as the foreign component has dwindled. India could now be the world's second-largest missionary-sending country, though the vast majority serve in their own country — most in a cross-cultural environment.

In Appendix 4 on p.747 there is a listing of the world's missionaries sent and received country by country.

8 The AD2000 and Beyond Movement launched in 1989 proved to be the most global, focused movement for world evangelization that there ever has been. Its ministry came to an end in January 2001 according to its charter, but the effects will impact the 21^st Century. It was a coordinating network of many of the more activist evangelical bodies around the world. Its goals were 'The gospel for every person and a church for every people.' Despite criticisms and inadequacies, much was achieved:

a) The 10/40 Window focus was brilliantly successful. The unusual phrase became a household phrase across the evangelical world. The most neglected part of the world basked in unaccustomed attention, thousands of congregations were mobilized for prayer and action, hundreds of agencies re-formulated strategies and recruitment of workers for the unreached significantly increased. In the authors' own agency, deployment in the 10/40 Window went up from 34% in 1984 to over 70% in 2000. The concept became almost too successful — sometimes in being applied to invalidate any mission activity outside the Window!

b) A great increase in research into the world's peoples — at a global level in producing the Joshua Project List (JPL) of unreached peoples and at regional and national levels with the multiplication of indigenous research efforts in Africa, Asia, Latin America, etc. The 1990s saw the most concerted attempt at analyzing the need of the world ever — of which Operation World itself is a part. Every JPL people was prayed for, profiled, mapped and most received some ministry visits. In many, ministry was initiated and churches planted.

c) The Joshua Project I was launched in 1995 to facilitate strategic planning, coordinated research and cooperative church planting during the remaining years of the 20^th Century. The list of 12,000 peoples was broken down as follows:

d) A Church for every people — how far was the goal achieved? The challenge to national and international congregations and agencies to adopt peoples for prayer and ministry gained momentum in the 1990s. Progress was logged for the 1,583 peoples listed in the October 2000 JPL with the following results:

This meant that by the end of 2000, there was a reported church planting team(s) in 1,084 of the peoples and evidence of a congregation of 100 members in 487. This, of course, does not include the possible 2,000 peoples of under 10,000 in population that remain inadequately researched and may be needing pioneer work. Praise God for these exciting initial achievements and pray that the momentum might increase in the period after 2000. There are weaknesses — inadequate mechanisms for holding those committed to their promises for adoption, insufficient verification and over-simplification of the task — but thank God for what was achieved!

e) The gospel for every person. The Mark 16:15 version of the Great Commission exhorts preaching the gospel to every person. The AD2000 and Beyond goal of the 'Gospel for Every Person' is in tune with this. It is harder to measure the impact of multiple means of ministry to the unconverted — personal witness, literature, Scripture translation, Christian video, cassettes, television, radio, the Internet and many other tools God has given us. We can measure potential accessibility by many of these ministries — though the reality may fall far short of this. However, the cumulative effects of multiple layers of ministry increase the likelihood of non-Christians hearing the gospel and the possibility of response. The AD2000 and Beyond Movement brought together major networks of specialist agencies. Here are listed some of the major thrusts of the 1990s:

i)Scripture translation. Through the combined ministry of the Bible Societies and Bible translation agencies, 94% of the world's population has access to a NT in their own language or soon will through existing translation projects. WBT has set the goal of researching the remaining languages of the earth and initiating a Bible translation programme for each one requiring it by 2020 (see p.698).

ii)The World by Radio consortium of Christian broadcasting agencies (see p.694) made a commitment to provide Christian radio programming for every person on earth in a language they could understand. In practical terms, it meant ensuring weekly broadcasts in 372 mega-languages. In the 1990s, 115 languages were added, leaving only 164 with no broadcasts. It is estimated that the potential audience is now 99% (assuming good radio reception, availability of radios and power and also interest in seeking the correct frequencies).

iii)The JESUS film (see p.696) has had 4.1 billion individual viewings — maybe representing 3 billion people and has yielded over 128 million enquirers. The goal of translating the script into every language spoken by 50,000 people had virtually been achieved by 2001. Well over 99% of the world's population would be able to view the film in a language they know.

iv)Many other remarkable international ministries such as SAT-7 satellite TV coverage in the Middle East, EHC, GRN, etc., could also be added to these multiple layers of global coverage.

v)Witnessing by local believers. Ultimately this is the best and most fundamental means for sharing the gospel. Only 6.3% of the world's population lives in a culture without a witnessing church — though in large populations many would have little chance to visit one such. To this 93.7% of the population with a Church in their own culture could be added the 98% of the world's population that has a resident national or expatriate witness in their midst.

This diagram shows these layers of witness which have the potential to cover the whole world's population multiple times. Of course the actual truth is that most of these ministries reach a proportion of the potential. Praise God for the amazing tools we can use and the resourcefulness of Christian agencies in using them well.

The sobering fact is that even with all this activity, probably 15-25% of the world's population has not really heard the gospel in such a way as to respond to the offer of eternal salvation in Jesus Christ.

Global Hot Spots

Here are listed some of the critical international hot spots likely to cause much grief, suffering and death in the coming decade. These need to be covered in prayer. Please see the individual regions and countries for more detail.

1    The future of Jerusalem. The fundamental issue of this world-renowned city's future is possibly the biggest flash-point in the world today. The conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians has resisted major international efforts to resolve it. War between the heavily armed Israelis and surrounding Muslim states is not unlikely. This unresolved issue cripples many international efforts to reinforce peace and economic betterment.

2 The Balkan-Central Asia belt stretches across a region of conflict — the Balkan ethnic hatreds, Kurdish desires for nationhood, the Caucasus cauldron of wars and confrontations together with potentially vast oil wealth, the clash between the Muslim and Orthodox worlds in Central Asia and the open ulcer of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

3 The Himalayan cultural, religious and political divide with the growing nuclear abilities of antagonistic Pakistan, China and India.

4 China's growing assertiveness — with its military capability threatening East and southeast Asia as it seeks to regain Taiwan and control surrounding seas and small island archipelagos.

5 International terrorism. The sophistication, power and transportability of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological) make the threat real that a few armed fanatics can hold whole nations to ransom.

6 Africa's zones of conflict. These are partly due to unsuitable, colonially-drawn frontiers in the 19^th Century. Present major conflict zones:

a) Far West Africa where greed and ethnic loyalties have plunged Liberia, Sierra Leone and increasingly Guinea into war with unspeakable barbarities committed.

b) The Central Africa chain of conflicts have become intertwined in recent years and ongoing wars between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the genocidal wars of Rwanda and Burundi, the civil wars of Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, the two Congos and Angola. This zone of conflict stretches from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic and has caused cumulatively over 10 million deaths in the past 20 years through famine or war.

c) The unresolved issue of the Western Sahara, now controlled by Morocco.

d) The civil war in Algeria.

One positive for Africa — there is peace in Southern Africa after nearly 40 years of conflict.

7 The scarcity of water in many parts of the world is becoming a major cause of tension and even conflict between nations. Major hydro-politics tension points:

a) The Amu Darya/Oxus of Central Asia.

b) The Tigris-Euphrates (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran).

c) The Jordan (Israel, Syria, Jordan).

d) The Nile (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia).

e) The nations to the north and south of the Sahara Desert.

f) The Amur (Russia, China).

There are 26 nations already suffering from a severe water deficit. It is reckoned that by 2025 3 billion people will have problems accessing fresh water.

Global Issues to Watch

Below are major trends in our world that hint at ever faster and more severe changes that bring both danger and opportunity for Christian witness. Turn these into intercession for the continued intervention of God into the lives of the world's population.

1 The pressures on world leaders continue to increase and so do the uncertainties and dangers. Pray for the world's leaders. Those who lead their countries are listed in Appendix 1 on p.715. Pray specifically for:

a) Those who give just and godly leadership, many of whom are committed Christians. They need to be upheld in prayer. They have to make difficult decisions for a majority who may not share their faith. Pray that they may continually stand firm for what is good, moral and just for the nations they rule and not give way to numerous pressure groups who would wish to gain advantage for vested interests, nor push for the relaxation of laws that forbid what the Bible names as sin.

b) Those who face major crises. Pray for courage to take the right decisions, however unpopular. It is easy to go for the soft or cheap option which ultimately proves hard and costly. The new millennium will provide an ever-multiplying number of these crises.

c) Christians to be active in their homelands to promote justice, righteousness, honest government and wise rule for the good of all. In too many cultures, Christians have either opted out of the political process and allowed the wrong ones to rule by default, or they have become part of the problem and compromised.

d) Good rulers to be raised up. The collapse of Communism and the spread of democratic governmental systems has not ended tyrannies, autocratic power-seekers or corrupt, greedy dictators. Pray for those who are unfit to rule their lands that they may repent and change (as did Nebuchadnezzar) or be removed (Pharoah, Belshazzar).

2 Global warming has become a reality through a series of knock-on effects with unknown results in the long-term — probably with the sea-level rising, flooding of lowlands, destruction of coral reefs, more cataclysmic storms, more severe climate changes, a sudden, catastrophic rise in world temperatures, etc. The wealthy nations with 20% of the world's population produce 80% of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming (the USA with 4.5% of the world's population produces 22% of the greenhouse gases).

3 The insidious power of international crime empires. Globalization has also globalized crime:

a) Drug networks linking the largest growers (Andean republics, Central Asia, the Golden Triangle of SE Asia) with the largest users (the West). Some such are the Italian/US Mafia, the Colombian drug barons, Chinese Triads, Japanese yakuza, Jamaican yardies, Russian mafia, etc.

b) Money laundering on a massive scale.

c) Control of national economies and politicians.

d) Huge trading in people — sex slaves, illegal migrants, women as captured wives, etc.

4 The impact of older and newer diseases has markedly increased — AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis being some of the more infamous and prominent. Africa and tropical countries will be more adversely affected.

5 The treatment of women continues to be a scandal in many parts of the world. Of the 1.3 billion in deep poverty, 70% are women. They work longer hours for less reward and all too often bear the greater financial burden to raise their families. Countries where female infanticide is widely practised, such as China and India, will trigger a growing smuggling of women and girls for the sex trade and for forced marriages.

6 International migrations. Population growth in poorer countries and the increasing gap between the richer and poorer nations is driving many to seek a better future in another land. Large scale migrations into Western Europe, North America, South Africa, Siberia, etc., will continue to grow regardless of whatever barriers are raised or legislation passed. This 'threat' could also be a great opportunity for Christian witness — most migrants coming from less-evangelized lands.

7 Electronic communications have gone global at a rate no one could have conceived — fibre-optic cables, microwave/mobile phone networks and the ubiquitous Internet are impacting nearly every country and culture. The possibilities and dangers are enormous.

8 Language extinctions. Globalization threatens the world's rich language diversity.

a) The Internet and technological revolution has made English the preferred global language. A disproportionate number of the world's wealthy speak English. This aids in international communication, but is a cultural juggernaut that is crushing many smaller cultures.

b) Only 65 languages are spoken by more than 10 million people and only 45 are used as a main teaching medium in secondary schools.

c) Languages are dying out. Over 50 have one speaker only, 426 are nearly extinct and some estimate that half of the 7,148 languages may be extinct in 2100. The work of Bible translators together with literacy workers is one significant ministry in preserving languages and restoring pride in their cultures.

9 The rise in levels of persecution — especially for Christians. The era of Constantinian Christianity is rapidly passing in which the Christian religion and politics were inextricably entwined. The Christian religion and a Christian worldview are being marginalized and levels of persecution have increased.

a) Open Doors maintains a persecution index for the world's nations. There are 74 which persecute religious believers — especially Christians. About 400 million Christians live in these lands. A more up-to-date persecution index for July 2001 is given on page 222.

b) The main offenders:

i) Muslim states — the increasing application of shari'a law is creating multiplied opportunities for persecution. In Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia the courts may sentence a national to death for becoming a Christian. In most Muslim countries relatives will sometimes murder those who come to believe in Christ.

ii) Marxist states continue to make life very difficult for Christians — this is especially true in North Korea where profession of faith leads to imprisonment and death, and also in China, Vietnam and Laos where unregistered Christians have suffered severely.

iii) Hinduist extremism has led to heightened pressure and acts of terror against Christians in India and Nepal.

iv) Buddhists have persecuted and maltreated Christians in Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

v) Western democratic governments — notably France, Austria and Belgium — have been seeking to pass legislation against 'sects', but the failure to define 'sects' has led to unwarranted discrimination. All over the Western world, the worship of 'tolerance' has led to increased pressure on those intolerant enough to believe in absolutes and right and wrong.

c) Networks of Christian intercessors exist to pray for the persecuted Church. There is an annual Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church which is coordinated globally by WEF. (See Appendix 2).

The Church and the Great Commission

The whole of God's plan of redemption centres round the Church of his beloved Son. This is why he called Abraham (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:8). Christ died for the Church (Ephesians 2:16) and he lives as its Head (Ephesians 1:22). As part of his Body, our longing should be for its up-building and perfection (Col. 1:24). One day soon the Bride of Christ, the Church, will be complete and perfect (Ephesians 5:27; Rev. 7:9-10)!

The Church on earth is only an imperfect manifestation of the one, true and invisible Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet we are promised by Jesus that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. In some lands there are hundreds of thousands of congregations and in others maybe only one or two. The wheat and the tares are mixed, the divisions and weaknesses are all too plain and obvious, yet the Holy Spirit is working in and through the Church in all its diversity of doctrines, denominations, languages and personalities. It is through the Church that God wants redemption to be proclaimed to mankind. Many prayer points through the book major on the needs of the Church. Here are a few suggested items of wider application:

1 Maintaining a clear witness to the uniqueness of Christ in the midst of a growing religious pluralism, non-Christian religious revival, urbanization, modernity and relativism. Christians will be increasingly criticized for being "intolerant".

2 Sustaining the centrality of the Scriptures in today's world at a time when many Evangelicals in the West are becoming less firm in their convictions. Too often believers' thoughts, prejudices and fears are moulded more by the prevailing culture, philosophies, superstitions and religions of the society around them than by the Bible. Humanism in the West, Hinduism in India, etc., are examples. All such can rob Christians of their assurance, power and joy in the face of a hostile world, and side-track believers into focusing on secondary or irrelevant issues.

3 The effective functioning of local congregations. Each should be an organism, a body. Each member has gifts to contribute to the up-building of the whole, yet rarely do congregations function in this way. This emphasis on "body life" has come into prominence in the past three decades. New, innovative models of 'church' and its ministry are emerging. May every congregation be an effective body through which the Holy Spirit can work!

4 Leadership — the key. Pastors, ministers and elders need constant upholding in prayer. There is a worldwide lack of men and women truly called of God and deeply taught in the Scriptures to lead the churches — people willing to suffer scorn, poverty and the shame of the Cross for the sake of the Saviour who redeemed them. Those who accurately and effectively expound the Scriptures are few, especially in areas where the churches are growing rapidly. May all leaders be an example to their flocks in holy living, evangelism and missionary concern for a lost world!

5 Spiritual depth. This is rare in many congregations. Superficiality, an inadequate devotional life and worldliness are common. This highlights the need for effective teaching, in the mother tongue, of the Bible's content, doctrines, and applicability to life and witness.

6 Victorious optimism is rare where evangelical believers are a small and despised minority or in countries where there is widespread decline in commitment to the Lord. These believers are often introspective and timid, and hardly a mighty force for the pulling down of the fortifications of the devil. Believers need prayer that they may witness boldly and effectively.

7 Young people. In this modern age they are often lost to the Church and become worldly, even after a Christian upbringing, because of a growing generation gap and the pressures of the world around them. Every new generation needs to be evangelized afresh, or the churches soon become nominal. Young people need prayer as never before.

8 Revival has occurred in various parts of the world this century (see Regions), but not on the scale, nor with the effect, for which believers long in this critical and momentous time of history.

9 Missionary vision. An Acts 1:8 strategy is needed for every church and denomination. Amazing results have been achieved by a dedicated few. How speedily the world would be evangelized if all believers and every congregation obeyed the commands of Jesus in Acts 1, and believed His promises for enablement through the Holy Spirit! Pray for the awakening and growth of missionary concern. Pray for effective and practical missionary involvement in praying, giving and going and for the following:

a) The speediest possible completion of the goals given in the Great Commission by the Lord Jesus to His Church.

b) All churches to make obedience to the Great Commission their primary ministry objective. Only through this will the resources be available to bring the task to conclusion, or closure, in our generation.

c) All leadership training institutions and programmes to ensure that missions be a fundamental and essential core component of every course. It is failure to do this that has caused the centuries of neglect and marginalization of world evangelization in churches and agencies.

d) Mission agency prayer, planning and deployment to emphasize reaching unreached areas, peoples and cities. The Adopt-a-People Clearinghouse and the AD2000 and Beyond Movement have compiled a list of over 6,000 unreached and adoptable peoples submitted by agencies as targeted for entry. Many are those included in our World A totals, others are World B and C peoples. (See Appendix 2 for addresses of these organizations and agencies who can provide further information.)

e) The adoption of unreached peoples by churches, Christian groups, prayer circles and individuals. The task can be completed only as Christians take responsibility in earnest intercession until believers are won and churches planted in each people.

Note: For the vital role of the Church in God's plan for world evangelization and the history of what went right and wrong over the centuries, and what we should do about it, see The Church is Bigger Than You Think also written by Patrick Johnstone, and published by Christian Focus Publications. The book is due for revision using new data prepared for this edition of Operation World. See Appendix 9.

The Great Commission Harvesters

The Church is God's means for evangelizing the world, and from New Testament times men and women as individuals and teams have been set apart and sent out with the apostolic task of preaching the gospel beyond the reach of local congregations. Those members of the Church who move out in this way constitute the missionary force of the world.

1 Mission agencies. There has been a multiplication of Protestant missionary sending and support agencies over the past two centuries; this has become a worldwide phenomenon of great significance. Pray for:

a) Effective strategies to evangelize the world and plant churches among its diverse peoples. Lack of such can lead to misuse of resources and frustration for personnel.

b) Adaptability in a rapidly changing world. Few agencies are easily able to change structures and strategies to cope with the new and challenging demands of such a changing world.

c) Leadership in mission agencies. These leaders need wisdom in setting clear objectives, guidance in the selection and placing of workers and ability to give them pastoral care and to maintain good relationships with secular authorities.

d) Harmonious cooperation and fellowship between missionary-sending and missionary-receiving churches. The growing emphasis on local church responsibility for world evangelism can lead to tensions and misunderstandings unless mutual responsibilities and relationships are clearly understood. The local churches and missionary agencies need each other. Neither can do the job alone.

e) Effective cooperation between missionary agencies. There is often unnecessary duplication of effort, and a lack of corporate planning together about ways to get the job done. The manner of entry of many agencies into the former Communist bloc after 1989 was a demonstration of how not to do it. See the Special Ministries section on p.711.

f) Working networks in areas difficult to enter overtly as missionaries. The development of non-residential missionary programmes advanced quickly in the '80s. This and the tactful ministry of Interdev, a service agency dedicated to brokering such networks, are significant for new advances into what are often called creative-access nations. During the 1990s there were many new field partnerships initiated linking the churches and agencies from many nations. This needs to be developed and deepened.

2 Missionaries. The old type of individualistic missionary of the colonial era is no longer acceptable. Teamwork and an ability to work with, and under, leaders of other nationalities make great demands. The modern missionary must be a self-effacing spiritual giant! The missionary's personal walk with God is vital. The harsh realities of the modern world soon dispel the imagined glamour of pioneer missionary work. Pray for:

a) Vital, supportive home fellowships of believers who are willing to pray the missionary out to the field and keep him or her there through the years of greatest effectiveness. This is difficult to maintain with the rapid changes and turn-over in membership and in the pastoral team in most congregations.

b) The supply of his/her financial need. Missionary ministries are more expensive to maintain than those at home. Many live sacrificially for Christ, yet their living standards may appear sumptuous to local people, and a wise balance is needed. The problems of exchange control, export of currency, inflation, artificial exchange rates, endemic bribery, etc., are constant time-wasting frustrations.

c) Adequate preparation for missionary work. This is arduous and long — theological training, ministry experience, language learning and adaptation to a new land may take years before an effective ministry can be exercised. Those years can be traumatic and discouraging for both single workers and young married couples. The rising number of missionaries who fail to return for a second term of service is indicative of possible deficiencies in selection, preparation, structure and pastoral care.

d) Cultural adjustment. Culture shock is the subject of much humour, but is very real. Many prospective missionaries cannot make the adjustment to new foods, life styles, languages, value systems and attitudes. Some return home disillusioned and with a sense of failure; others react wrongly on the field and hinder fellowship and witness; yet others go too far in their adaptation and compromise their health and sometimes their faith. Balance and objectivity are needed.

e) Protection from Satan's attacks. The powers of darkness are real. In many areas Satan's kingdom has never been challenged before. Missionaries need discernment and authority to resist attacks he makes through health, the mind, opponents of the gospel and even Christian workers. Physical dangers are real — with an increase in hostage-taking, life-threatening diseases and insecurity. Missionaries need the victorious faith that will "bind the strong man and spoil his goods".

f) Family life. For singles, the missionary call may mean foregoing marriage for the sake of the gospel — loneliness can be a heavy burden to bear. For others, family life may be made difficult by living conditions, inadequate amenities or lack of finance, or be disrupted by long separations, many visitors and excessive workloads. Missionaries' children may be separated from their parents for long periods because of education, and can become resentful or rebellious in their teens. Pray that missionary families may be an effective witness and example of all that a Christian family should be.

g) Commitment to God's will. The assurance that God has guided to a particular ministry is often the only anchor to retain workers in difficult situations, misunderstandings, broken relationships and "impossible" crises. Pray that none may leave a place of calling for a negative or superficial reason, but only because of a positive leading from God.

h) Fruitfulness. All workers need the anointing of God on their lives, and an effective ministry that bears eternal fruit. For this they need clear objectives and time to achieve them. Too much time can be spent on survival and handling trivial interruptions, and too little on the real reason for being there. Only the Holy Spirit can give a worker that constraining love of Christ for sinners — human pity and love are inadequate.

i) A sense of urgency. Expulsions or enforced departure from the field could suddenly terminate a ministry. Missionaries need to work hard to train their successors and help local believers to maturity.

j) Homecoming for furlough, or for home ministry, which can be traumatic. Returning missionaries need the continued support of God's people for overcoming re-entry shock, establishing an effective rapport with churches at home and building an effective ministry.

The Unfinished Task Religious Systems

The World's Religions and the Challenge they represent. The 20^th Century was one in which secularism seemed to triumph, but the 21^st Century is likely to be one in which the world's religions vie with one another for the hearts and minds of humankind. The supposed 'tolerance' of the post-modern West is unlikely to extend globally to the religious systems of this world. Here follows a very brief mention of some of these religious systems and several global prayer challenges. More detail will be given in the subsequent sections of the book.

1 Christianity has become the most global of religions. There is no country without a Christian witness and only 10 without a visible congregation of indigenous believers (8 in Asia, 2 in Africa). There are 18 countries with a resident Christian population of less than 1%, and a further 22 with less than 5%. Over the 20^th Century, Christianity declined slightly from 34.5% in 1900 to 32.5% in 2000. The precipitous decline of the past 30 years in Europe has been balanced by the growth in Asia and Africa. Much has been covered in the section on the Church in the previous pages.

a) Nominalism has become a major issue. In many countries the 'Christians' themselves need to be evangelized. Their spiritual needs cannot be ignored. Living in the after-glow of a Christian heritage does not confer eternal salvation. Many traditionally Christian populations know nothing of a personal faith, true repentance from sin and a trust in the finished work of Christ for their salvation. It is estimated that 1.2 billion (60%) are nominal and non-practising 'Christians'. Many millions more trust more in their good deeds than in God's grace for salvation. Many areas of Europe, Latin America and parts of Africa and Asia are Christianized but unconverted. Occultism and sin reign unchallenged. Pray for renewal, re-evangelization and new growth in such areas.

b) Christo-pagans who, while statistically counted as Christians, are practising occultists, shamanists, fetishists, etc. under a veneer of Christianity. This is particularly prevalent in Latin America among the Amerindians and Mestizo. It is also widespread in Africa where many indigenous groups are more influenced by ethnic religions than by the gospel. Europe and Asia, too, have millions of professing Christians who are just as syncretistic. Evangelizing such people and making them into disciples of the Lord Jesus is just as necessary as winning those of other religions — even if this results in accusations of proselytism.

c) Sectarianism. The term 'sect' is loaded and misused. Many genuine believers in Christ are persecuted or harassed because of being so described. Yet there are millions of 'Christians' who define their own church or group as the sole possessors of Truth — some such are the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and many other smaller groups. They need to be freed from the teachings that have ensnared them. See the Special Ministries section on p. xxx.

2 Muslims live largely in the great arc of territory stretching from West Africa through Central Asia, to Indonesia. Their growth in the 20^th Century has been significant — from 12.3% in 1900 to 21.1% in 2000. Most of this growth has been through a higher birth rate and expansion through migration. Conversion growth has been greatest in West Africa, Indonesia and the USA. Pray for:

a) The eyes and hearts of Muslims to be opened to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Built into Islam are specific denials of truths fundamental to us who believe in Him. The barriers to faith are so numerous that it requires a deep working of the Holy Spirit — often through supernatural revelations or miracles.

b) Muslim background believers in Christ who are relatively few. Only in a few areas such as parts of Indonesia, Central Asia, Nigeria and Algeria have there been significant turnings to Christ. They face severe pressures and even death. Many Muslim lands have adopted shari'a laws which require the death penalty for apostates from Islam.

c) Christian ministries to Muslims. These have long been limited, but are on the increase. Yet only about 6% of all foreign missionaries are working for the blessing of Muslims, who constitute a third of all non-Christians. Pray for more to be called, equipped and led into fruitful ministry to Muslims.

3 The non-religious and secular bloc has shown the most massive growth in the 20^th Century, with about 0.2% of the world's population in 1900 and peaking in 1980, but in 2000 representing 15.5% — mainly Europeans and Chinese. Since the collapse of Communism, there has been a rise in spirituality and slight decline in the non-religious percentage. Nevertheless Christians have generally proved singularly ineffective in communicating the gospel in a relevant and winsome way to secular, post-modern culture. Pray for change — for Christians to become relevant, effective witnesses and for the tide of materialistic secularism to be turned.

4 Hinduism has made notable missionary inroads in the West through the wide acceptance of transcendental meditation, yoga, New Age thinking, sects such as Hare Krishna and Indian gurus. It has also become more militant and repressive of all other religious minorities in its heartlands of India and Nepal.

a) The Indian sub-continent has the largest concentration and variety of least-reached peoples and people groups on earth. The gospel has spread most to the poor and marginalized, while the main body of caste Hindus remains unevangelized.

b) The need for workers able to reach caste Hindus is great. Pray for Indian Christians and others to be called and enabled to reach them despite present restrictive laws and a rampant Hindu militancy that persecutes Christians.

c) A de-Westernized, culturally appropriate pattern of Christian living and community is needed. Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring the light of the gospel to influential Hindus.

5 Buddhism is the state religion of five nations in Asia, the majority in a further four, and a significant minority in yet another 11. Over half of this total are followers of the mixture of the Chinese religions, Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. The various religious systems are so intermingled that a clear differentiation is hard to make. There are also major new religions which are offshoots of Buddhism — Cao Dai in Vietnam, Falun Gong in China, Sokka Gokkai in Japan. Since the discrediting of Communism after 1990, Buddhism has had a measure of resurgence in East and Southeast Asia, but overall it continues its gradual decline. The Dalai Lama of Tibet has popularized Buddhism in the West. Relatively few Buddhists have come to Christ despite two or more centuries of presenting the gospel to them in such lands as Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tibet, etc.

6 Ethnic religions and the more modern varieties of spiritism continue to decline in world percentage but are showing significant increase in vitality in every continent. Many followers of world religions remain, in practice, shamanists, animists, idolaters, spiritists, ancestor worshippers, fetishists, wiccan, etc. Widespread fascination with the occult is an indication of the fierceness of the spiritual conflict in which we are engaged.

7 Sikhism is one of the more recent world religions and originated in northeast India. Many Sikhs have migrated to other countries — Canada, East Africa, Britain, Southeast Asia. Few Christians have ever sought to understand their religion and find ways of sharing the gospel. So Christians from a Sikh background remain relatively few.

8 Jews are declining in numbers in most countries — through low birthrates, secularization, conversions to Christ and emigration to Israel. Nearly 30% of all Jews now live in Israel. Of the 14 million Jews, some estimate that there may be about 100,000 Messianic Jews, the majority in the USA. That Jews should find salvation in Messiah Yeshua remains a key concern for Christians.

9 Numerous other religions remain a challenge for Christian witness — the 6 million Baha'i worldwide, 4 million Jains in India and the 3.5 million Parsees. Very few Jains or Parsees have ever come to faith in Christ.

The Unfinished Task — The World's Peoples

It was only during the 1990s that a reasonably complete listing of the world's peoples and languages was developed. For the first time in history we have a reasonably clear picture of the remaining task for us to disciple the nations.

Here is a summary of our present assessment of the least reached peoples. Of the world's 12,000 ethnolinguistic peoples, about 3,000 — 3,600 are 'World A' peoples in which less than 50% are likely to have heard the gospel. Nearly all originate from the 10/40 Window area and most can be broadly classified in 11 major Affinity Blocs. Their affinities include culture, language use, geography, history, etc. See the map on p.17. The table below shows the number of peoples, their populations (in 1,000's) and the number of professing Christians (also in 1,000s) for all peoples (Worlds A, B, C) and for the least reached (World A).

Over 90% of all the least-reached peoples on earth either live within the areas shown on the above map or have migrated to other parts of the world. In all the rest of the world are about 350 peoples with 82 million individuals which are in the least-reached category.

There are an estimated 20 million Christians among the World A peoples, and probably some ongoing church-planting ministry among 2,500 of the 3,500 peoples. Within these Affinity Blocs are the more closely related 160 or so people clusters into which a majority of these less-reached can be grouped. Many of these are mentioned later in the book. Here we briefly cover the 11 Affinity Blocs themselves and some of the more important people clusters:

Challenges for Prayer

1 Many of the least-reached are hedged in by political, religious, social and spiritual barriers, but they need cross-cultural gospel input from workers called of God. Pray that they may have a revelation of the grace and power of God for effective growing churches to be planted.

2 Relatively few of these 3,500 peoples have no known Christians among them, but in most they constitute a small minority — on average 1.2% of the population. They face many pressures and even persecution. Pray that these Christians may know the sustaining grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit to witness to their own people.

3 Nearly 1,500 of these peoples have populations of less than 10,000. For many, we do not have adequate information. This highlights the need for good national and international research teams to find out the need for these and larger peoples so that the Church may be activated to bring them the good news.

4 Churches around the world need to gain a vision for unreached peoples. Pray for congregations that have already adopted a people that this adoption may lead to significant progress among the adopted people. Pray that more congregations may catch such a vision.

5 There must be disciples made from every people on earth. This implies the need for a body of believers in every people and, more, a church that impacts every part of that people. This is a noble and achievable goal. It is also linked to the coming again of the Lord Jesus for His Church. Pray that the Church may passionately pursue this goal to conclusion and then be the generation that brings back the King!

The Great Commission and the Unfinished Task

The Lord Jesus Christ gave His Church clear instructions in His resurrection ministry:

· The evangelistic challenge in Mark 16:15.

· The discipling/church planting challenge in Matthew 28:18-20.

· The teaching challenge of Luke 24.

· The missions challenge of John 20:21.

· The global challenge of Acts 1:8.

This encompasses the task before us, and we want to see its completion as soon as possible! I believe the evidence of this book is that we have a measurable, finishable task — big though it might still be — it is impossible through human planning, effort, strategizing or sacrifice, but only in complete dependence on our God. Hence the challenge to pray!

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PERSECUTION INDEX

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