Many trends in global Christianity paint an encouraging picture of health and growth, but not every trend is positive in 2025.
By Aaron Earls
Seeing the statistical realities of global Christianity should encourage Christians. The gospel is spreading, especially in Africa and Asia. The Bible is being translated into even more languages. A shrinking share of the world’s population is without any access to the message of Christ.
But that’s not all that’s happening around the world. Some statistics in the 2025 report from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary should challenge believers to be more passionate in prayer and their obedience to the Great Commission.
Here are six discouraging trends in global Christianity in 2025.
1. Islam is growing faster than Christianity
While Christianity continues to grow, Islamic growth continues to outpace the church’s growth. Christianity slightly outpaced the global rate of population growth (0.98% v. 0.88%), but Islam grew even faster (1.67%).
Currently, Christians still outnumber Muslims (2.6 billion to 2 billion), but the gap between the two is shrinking. In 2000, there were 700 million more Christians. By 2050, projections indicate Muslims will be less than 500 million adherents behind Christianity.
Currently, Christians still outnumber Muslims (2.6 billion to 2 billion), but the gap between the two is shrinking, according to @CSGC. Share on X2. Christianity is shrinking in North America and Europe
In 1900, more Christians lived in Europe (380 million) than in all the other regions of the world combined. North America had the second-highest population of Christians (79 million). Christianity continued to grow in those two continents throughout the 20th century, but there are now fewer Christians in each region than five years ago.
Compared to 2020, Christianity is declining at -0.54% in Europe and -0.14% in North America. The number of European Christians fell by around 17 million in the past five years, while the number dropped by almost 2 million in North America.
3. The population without access to the gospel is growing
The good news is that the global population that doesn’t have access to the gospel is currently shrinking as a share of the population. The bad news is the number is still growing. Today, more than 2.2 billion people have no gospel access, up from 2.1 in 2020. Projections have that number rising to 2.7 billion by 2050.
4. Most non-Christians still don’t know a Christian
This is another good news/bad news situation. On the positive side, fewer non-Christians are isolated from Christians. In 1900, 95% of non-Christians did not know any followers of Jesus. That percentage fell steadily throughout the 1900s. It is still declining but much slower. Even still, most non-Christians around the world (51.5%) have no relationship with a Christian.
Most non-Christians around the world (51.5%) have no relationship with a Christian, according to @CSGC. Share on X5. Martyrdom is no longer in decline
In 1970, more than 3.7 million Christians were killed over a 10-year window. That number has been in decline—1.6 million in 2000 and 900,000 in 2020. But that number has plateaued recently around 900,000 and is projected to grow to 1 million by 2050.
6. Financial crimes in the church have exploded
Giving to Christian causes continues to grow, reaching almost $1.4 billion in 2025. But with that amount of money, is the unfortunate reality of mismanagement and outright theft. In 2020, ecclesiastical crime amounted to $67 billion around the world. Today, that number has jumped to $92 billion and is expected to reach almost $400 billion by 2050.
Those crimes happen globally and here in the U.S. A 2022 Lifeway Research study found 1 in 13 U.S. Protestant churches have had someone embezzle money from them.
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