In the beginning God created the World.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1 NIV).
》 Profile
Population | World 8.04 billion, Asia 4.86 billion, Middle East 460 million, Africa 1.4 billion, Europe 650 million, North America 570 million, South America 430 million, Oceania 43.75 million
Area | World 148.94 million Km², Asia 48.32 million Km², Middle East 7 million Km², Africa 30.37 million Km², Europe 10.18 million Km², North America 24.49 million Km², South America 17.84 million Km², Oceania 9 million Km²
Languages | English 1.5 billion, Chinese 1.1 billion, Hindi 600 million, Spanish 540 million, French 270 million, Bengali 270 million, Russian 250 million, Portuguese 250 million, Urdu 230 million
Religions | World religious population: 7.14 billion
Christians 2.64 billion, Muslims 2.07 billion, Hindus 1.09 billion, Buddhists 535.54 million, Chinese folk religion adherents 458.58 million, Ethnic religion adherents 288.86 million, New religious movements 66.48 million, Sikhs 28.75 million, Jews 15.21 million
Non-religious population 897.41 million, Agnostics 748.05 million, Atheists 149.35 million
Population in Unreached 2.2 billion (27.8% of the world population)
》 About The World
God reigns over the entire world. However, believers are under constant attack in their faith. The media of this age focuses on all kinds of evil—war, disaster, famine, and tragedy. Meanwhile, the spotlight on what is beautiful, whole, and good is steadily declining. As a result, God’s work and His servants are rarely noticed. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24), our eyes must be opened to see the reality that God is with us.
The unprecedented harvest of new believers continues across Africa, Asia and Latin America, in contrast to the relative stagnation or decline of Christianity in the rest of the world. We are witnessing a remarkable story of a growing, spreading and diversifying Church. Christianity has slightly declined as a percentage of the world’s population since 1900 – only the Protestant, Independent and Marginal MegaBlocs have defied this trend to gain a larger proportion of the world’s population.
Christianity has been re-affirmed as a global religion. The concept of Christianity as a European “white-man’s religion” is now deemed a myth. Though sometimes small in number, all but concealed, or mostly members of a minority people group, there are now Christians living and in fellowship in every country on earth. World mission, globalization and high migration rates have dispersed the Church into every corner of the world, both to previously unevangelized areas and back to traditionally Christian regions where the Church has been in sharp decline.
There had been an astonishing shift of Christianity’s center of gravity to the Majority World. It is also an indication that the missionary efforts of the past two-hundred years have borne incredible fruit, though at times it was slow in coming. Years and generations of prayer and faithful service to the unevangelized world by both missionaries and indigenous Christians have not been in vain.
》 Scripture Focus
| Genesis 1:1-5,26-28(NIV) 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” |
》 Prayer Points
1. God is the Creator who made the heavens and the earth. He is the one true Lord who governs and rules over all nations.
Let us give thanks for His faithfulness in answering our prayers, bringing revival to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and spreading the Gospel across the world. Let us also thank Him for opening doors in the regions where it was most difficult for the Gospel to enter, and for sending laborers into the harvest. Let us worship the name of the Lord, who is worthy of praise from all the earth.
2. Prayer movements and networks multiplied and grew on an unprecedented scale and with greater focus and breadth as God’s people joined together to pray. Movements on local, national and international levels are praying for communities, nations, peoples and thematic issues as well. Believers in any country can join in prayer for the persecuted Church (International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church), for Muslims (the 30-Days Prayer Network), Hindus and Buddhists (both with 15-Days Prayer Networks), for unreached peoples or regions , for strategic cities, for groups and areas of great need and much more.
Let us pray that church, which has been called to be a channel of blessing to the nations, will experience a greater unity in prayer and revival, and become more fervent in prayer for the revival of God’s kingdom.
3. The globalization of the Great Commission movement has profoundly changed the face of missions. Since the late 1970s, there has been a surge of interest and involvement in missions from the Majority World. Mission sending has recently gained or maintained momentum in countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil, Philippines, South Korea and others. Involvement by the more traditional sending regions of North America, Europe and the Pacific have stayed level at best and have often declined. The world missions force today is now more multicultural and multinational than ever before.
Let us pray that the church, as the body of Christ, created in God’s image and likeness, will understand God’s heart. Let us pray that the church will fully commit to the Great Commission movement, advancing with obedience in various ways and forms.
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