In 1910 in Edinburgh, there was a global conference on missions. 95% of the participants came from the western world and only 5% from the rest.
In 2010, a similar conference was held in Cape Town when 5,000 evangelical leaders came together from all across the globe. Only 35% of the participants were from the western world and 65% from the majority world.
This is a reminder of how the evangelical church exploded all across the world in the last century. No longer can anyone say that Christianity is a western religion. In fact, the 5 countries with the largest number of evangelical Christians in the world are China, India, Nigeria, Brazil, and South Korea. In 1910, only 16 percent of the mission force came from the non-western world. By 1960, that had doubled to 35%. In 2025 that number is expected to double again to 70%. This well illustrates how paternalism in missions yielded to partnership. A true gospel partnership was birthed through mutual respect and cooperation.
The answer to paternalism and dependence lies in true partnership where the daughter becomes a friend, and where founding agencies partner with national churches. Praise the Lord!
