Non-religious in Switzerland

If you asked people in Switzerland what their religion is, how many do you think would claim to be 'non-religious'? According to a survey by Swissinfo.ch (31 March 2011) it is one in four! That is massively up from only 1% who would have claimed to be non-religious in 1970 or 11% in 2000.

One in four! Wow.

So I compared that to figures in the 2011 Operation World about how many people in Nigeria consider themselves to be non-religious. In this West African nation the figure drops like a stone to 0.3%. What a massive difference.

It makes you wonder if needing to say "Give us this day our daily bread" really does help you to believe in a God that is alive and active today.

Who is reaching who?

A couple of nights ago I was at a goodbye party for the man finishing up as British Director of European Christian Mission (if Jenny reads this, the food was great!). While I talked my way around the nearly 30 people attending I realised it was quite an international bunch.

There was one couple where the husband is British and the wife is German who are preparing to go help with a church plant in Germany. There was a Lithuanian woman who is planning to work in England reaching out to other Eastern Europeans. There was a Nigerian man married to an English woman who plan to work with an English church plant. There was an English man working here in the UK doing European research but who pops across to Spain to offer consulting on Spanish church planting...

It was a good reminder that today is a unique time in the history of God's expanding kingdom. Increasingly He is using people from everywhere to go everywhere to reach everyone.

I can't wait to see the fruit of all this new activity. Go God!

Exciting church growth in...

...Africa

"Just after the First World War, an Anglican diocese was established in Lagos in Nigeria. Ninety-one years later, it has become the largest active Protestant church body in the world.

"Much of the growth of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, however, occurred during the last two decades.

"From 24 dioceses in 1988, the church has grown to 156 dioceses. Every Sunday, the Church of Nigeria gathers 20 million people in worship of Jesus Christ." (Christian Today, 15 June 2010)

...Asia

"Protestant churches in Hong Kong are blooming with an annual growth rate 6.2% over the last five years and the number of Protestants in the former British colony drawing close to 300,000." (Christian Today, 1 June 2010)

...Europe?

Wouldn't it be great to see this kind of explosive church growth in Europe? We serve the same God. Let's keep praying for it!