#BestoftheBestFriday: State of the World

Wanna know how God’s working around the world–and where you could join him? This just in.

9 Things You Should Know About Christianity in Korea

Joe Carter highlights landmarks in Korea’s timeline, to give us an idea what God’s been working on through the centuries. He ends with where Korea is today, including the South Korean church’s commitment to the Great Commission:

Despite having a relatively small population, South Korea is second to only the United States in the number of missionaries it sends across the globe. (In comparison to the United States, South Korea has a population—59 million—equal to California and Florida.)

Global Church Heads South

Here’s a quick look at how the church is expanding way beyond Europe and America. Countries traditionally receiving global workers are now sending them out! One writer gets to meet a couple behind these statistics in Experiencing the Latino Mission Movement in Chile:

I was met by a young couple at the airport. Isabella and Carlos were a young married couple in missionary training and in the preparation process to go as missionaries to East Asia. Isabella is from Madrid, Spain and Carlos is from Santiago, Chile.

Multiple Faces of India

India has asked Compassion International to leave. The move is a symptom of what Christianity Today’s Ed Stetzer calls a rise in “religious nationalism”. At the same time, God’s spirit is on the move. Stetzer contrasts these developments, and offers a look at the country’s history with Christianity in “Multiple Faces of India”:

Why would a country with much of its population living in poverty turn down service to its children, an issue concerning not only Compassion International, but other evangelical and Roman Catholic charities? Charging that funds from the West are used for conversion purposes, the government said the money is no longer wanted. It is estimated there are two million non-profit groups working in India.

Religion in China–by the Numbers

For the diehard stat geeks, here’s Religion in China–by the Numbers (Did you know “there are more Protestant churches and mosques than Buddhist temples”?).

5 Facts About Religion in Saudi Arabia

Pew Research reports, 

#3: The Saudi Arabian government follows an ultraconservative Wahhabi interpretation of the Quran… Wahhabism calls for the literal interpretation of the Quran…

The stats that don’t change

We end with some stats that haven’t changed since Jesus was here on earth: The Harvest is Plentiful, The Laborers Are Few. This remains the state of global evangelism.

Pray with us over these statistics from around the world–and evaluate how God might be beckoning you to participate. Will you come alongside him–and be part of the generation that shifts this imbalance?