PORTLAND, Ore. – In 1640, Saint Vincent de Paul reportedly said that God promised that the church would last to the end of time, but never said anything about Europe. Historian and religious sociologist, Philip Jenkins, quoted de Paul’s prescient insight that the church wasn’t guaranteed to last in any particular place during his remarks to mid council leaders gathering at a General Assembly breakfast sponsored by the Presbyterian Foundation on Sunday, June 19. Jenkins shared evidence of the radical change happening in Christianity. The pace and extent of change is no less than that of the Reformation, according to Jenkins. The world, from the perspective of North American and European Christians, has turned upside down with the majority of Jesus’ followers found in the global south. However, Jenkins noted that from a historical perspective Christianity has returned home to the places where it began.
According to Jenkins, by 2050 there will be more than a billion Christians in Africa and there will be three African Christians for every European Christian. Countries such as Brazil, Ethiopia and the Philippines will be the locus of the growth of Christianity, Jenkins said. What has driven this massive shift? Demographics and conversion, Jenkins said, adding, “Never underestimate the success of those missions.” Furthermore, he noted, every denomination is being revolutionized by this shift; all will face, if they aren’t already, an influx of people with different ideas, different worship styles and different views on issues such as sexuality.
Jenkins said that the correlations to the Reformation are many – from the explosion of Bible translations and their accessibility to large numbers of ordinary people, to the change of consciousness in the way people see the world.
What does this mean for American Presbyterians gathered this week in Portland? Jenkins assured the mid council leaders that “they come to you.” During the question-and-answer period, Jenkins expanded on the impact of growing immigrant congregations in the United States and noted that through immigrant congregations’ affiliation with non-immigrant congregations “accidental mission” happens and both groups are enriched.
When asked if this Reformation-sized transformation has relevance for Presbyterian local congregations not in direct relationship with an immigrant congregation, Jenkins responded that, at the very least, it should give everyone pause to consider what is meant when talking about “the church.”
As European and North American congregations worry about decline in numbers, their sisters and brothers in the global south are struggling to minister to their swelling communities. Jenkins told a story of one pastor confiding that he prayed that the pace of converts would slow down.
Jenkins reminded attendees that in 1646 Saint Vincent de Paul said, “These losses of the church in the past hundred years give us reason to fear in the present misfortune that in another hundred years we may lose the church entirely in Europe. So, keeping this fear in mind, blessed are those who cooperate in extending the church elsewhere.”
