Ministry in a Multi-Cultural and Unchurched Society

Append i x

273

World Christianity by the Numbers, continued

Trusted Christian pastors, treasurers, and other workers steal more than US$16.7 billion of church and mission funds in an average year around the world. This is a larger figure than the total amount given by all Christians, globally, for foreign missions, which is closer to US$15 billion (p. 24). In 2000, 419,000 Christian workers were serving God outside of their home countries. This figure includes missionaries of all traditions – Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, independent, and marginal Christian. It does not include those who serve cross culturally within their own countries (p. 27). “How many missionaries did a given country send per million affiliated Christians in that country?” By that measurement, Ireland is the greatest missionary-sending country in the world, followed in order by Malta, Samoa, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Palestine, Faeroe Islands, and Singapore (p. 27). The world’s largest missionary-sending country, ironically, is also the world’s largest missionary-receiving country. The United States sent out 118,200 missionaries in 2000 and received 33,200 (p. 27). [Finally] when we researchers call people Christians, that is a comment on their basic [self-declared] religious adherence, affiliation, or beliefs, not on their obedience to the way of Jesus. We cannot count the number of hypocrites (p. 24).