**UPDATE: though the IMBR article mentioned below was once free, that seems to be no longer the case. It’ll set you back $37.50. For $44 you can get a subscription. Follow the other links to free items, pay the cash, or find a friend who has a subscription, e.g., a through a Christian university with a missions department. So sorry! ~MW
Source: Center for the Study of Global Christianity, January 2020
Every year the International Bulletin of Missions Research (IMBR) publishes a snapshot of global Christianity in collaboration with the leaders of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (led by Todd Johnson and Gina Zurlo). This year’s article can be downloaded for free without a subscription and reports some of the major findings of the new 1000-page World Christian Encyclopedia, Third Edition. That is due out March 1; we’ll share more about it later.
This article briefly documents and describes the rise of global Christianity, continuing shifts to the South, the exodus of Christians from the Middle East, the current makeup of the global mission force, and three unexpected trends relating to world religion (that the world is becoming more religious and more religiously diverse although religious liberty is on the decline).
» Read the IMBR article or download the one-page statistical overview. Both include much helpful data and analysis for anyone who teaches or writes about global religion and missions. You can engage with the researchers and the research more deeply by participating in The Future of Religion and Mission conference, March 30 to April 1 event at Gordon-Conwell,
» See also David Joannes’ recent interview with researcher Todd Johnson, which brings the data to life (Mission Pulse podcast).