Research and figures… enough to make you cry.

Leestijd / Lesezeit / Reading time: 5 min

For a study, I recently needed to get some hard data, and I wasn’t too happy with the results… The question was:

Question 1: What percentage of Protestant Christians are missionaries?

• The number of Protestant missionaries worldwide is estimated at approximately 140,000.[6]
• The total number of Protestant Christians worldwide is estimated to be between 800 million and 1.05 billion.[1][3]

With these figures, we can calculate the percentage:

140,000 / 800,000,000 = 0.0175%
140,000 / 1,050,000,000 = 0.0133%

The percentage of Protestant Christians who are full-time missionaries is therefore approximately 0.013% to 0.018%.

This very small percentage aligns with the general trend observed among all Christians. It is worth noting that:

• 1. Only about 1% of all Christian missionary activities are focused on unreached people groups.[6]
• 2. Indigenous missionaries do 90% of the pioneering work in missions but receive only 10% of the mission funding.[6]
• 3. The majority of Protestant missionaries (74%) work among nominal Christians, with much smaller percentages working among other religious groups or unreached populations.[6]

These statistics suggest that although the percentage of full-time missionaries is small, there are also inequalities in how mission resources are allocated and which populations evangelistic efforts target.

And then another question came up:

Question 2: What percentage of Protestant missionaries have problems with funding their work?

There is no specific statistic that directly answers the question of what percentage of Protestant missionaries have problems with their funding. However, we can infer some relevant information:

• 1. Financial challenges are a significant issue for many missionaries. The majority of returning missionaries (67%) felt some degree of discomfort with fundraising, and 53% experienced low financial support[4].
• 2. There is a demonstrable correlation between going to the field without full funding and experiencing higher levels of financial distress[4].
• 3. Rising costs, financial limitations of supporting churches, and materialism within the church are cited as reasons why raising support is difficult for missionaries[3].
• 4. Only 6.4% of the money given to Christian causes goes to missions, and only 0.1% goes to unreached people groups[5]. This suggests that funding for missions in general is limited.
• 5. The total cost of Christian outreach averages $330,000 for each newly baptized person, indicating high costs associated with missionary work[6].

Although these points do not provide an exact percentage, they suggest that a significant portion of Protestant full-time missionaries is likely facing funding problems. The data indicates that financial issues are a common concern within the missionary community, affecting both the ability to raise initial support and to maintain adequate funding while on the field.

Yes, but not every Christian can be a missionary, and not every Christian is called to be a missionary.

That’s absolutely right! But… every Christian has the same great commission, as stated in Matthew 28:18-20. So that leads us to the next question:

Question 3: What percentage of Christians are actively evangelizing at all?

Based on the search results below, the percentage of Christians actively evangelizing varies depending on the specific study and how evangelism is defined. However, it generally appears that a minority of Christians is consistently engaged in evangelistic activities. Here are some key statistics:

• 1. Only 45% of churchgoers say they have shared with someone how to become a Christian in the past six months[5].
• 2. 55% of those who attend church at least once a month say they have not shared with anyone how to become a Christian in the past six months[5].
• 3. 95% of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ[6].80% of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ[6].
• 4. Less than 2% of Christians are involved in the ministry of evangelism[6].
• 5. 55% of born-again adults claimed to have shared their faith in Christ with a non-Christian in the past 12 months[7].
• 6. Among evangelicals, 66% had shared their faith, compared to 41% of those associated with mainline churches[7].
• 7. Only 38% of Christians have shared with a non-Christian loved one how to become a Christian in the past six months[2].
• 8. Only 30% of Christians have shared with a non-Christian stranger how to become a Christian in the past six months[2].

While many Christians express a willingness or desire to evangelize, the actual practice appears to be much lower. The data suggests that somewhere between 30-55% of Christians engage in some form of evangelism over a 6-12 month period, but consistent, active evangelism is likely limited to a much smaller percentage, possibly as low as 2% of Christians.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (Luke 10:2)

The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)

There is a huge gap between what the Bible clearly says and what ‘we’ do… Something to think about… and something to actually do something about. Now.

Sources for Question 1:

[1] Protestantism by country – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism_by_country
[2] Protestants Around the World – Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/protestants-around-the-world/
[3] The Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/
[4] 2024 Christian Missionary Statistics | Nations Outreach https://nationsoutreach.org/blog/christian-missionary-statistics/
[5] World Christianity and Mission 2021: Questions about the Future https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2396939320966220
[6] Statistics – About Missions https://www.aboutmissions.org/statistics.html
[7] List of Christian denominations by number of members – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations_by_number_of_members

Sources for Question 2:

[1] The Importance and Challenges of Money in Christian Missions https://scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0259-94222020000100046&script=sci_arttext
[2] Pastor, Where Do Your Missions Dollars Go? – The Gospel Coalition https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/where-do-missions-dollars-go/
[3] Missionary Support (Part 3): Challenges and Benefits of Deputation https://rootedthinking.com/2024/04/18/challenges-and-benefits-of-deputation/
[4] How Do Financial Factors Impact Missionary Attrition? https://www.alifeoverseas.com/how-do-financial-factors-impact-missionary-attrition/
[5] Why 99.99% of Mission Funds Do Not Go to the Unreached https://bethanygu.edu/blog/funding/why-missions-money-goes-to-wrong-place/
[6] About Missions https://www.aboutmissions.org/statistics.html

Sources for Question 3:

[1] Witness and Evangelism – St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/WitnessandEvangelism
[2] Christians Say They’re Seeking but not Having Evangelistic Conversations https://research.lifeway.com/2022/05/24/christians-say-theyre-seeking-but-not-having-evangelistic-conversations/
[3] Two-thirds of Christians Don’t Know How to Share the Gospel https://www.christianpost.com/news/two-thirds-of-christians-dont-know-methods-for-sharing-jesus.html
[4] Evangelism Matters – Christian Standard https://christianstandard.com/2023/11/evangelism-matters/
[5] Evangelism More Prayed for Than Practiced by Churchgoers https://research.lifeway.com/2019/04/23/evangelism-more-prayed-for-than-practiced-by-churchgoers/
[6] Evangelism Statistics | Bible.org https://bible.org/illustration/evangelism-statistics
[7] Survey Shows How Christians Share Their Faith – Barna Group https://www.barna.com/research/survey-shows-how-christians-share-their-faith/
[8] Half of Millennial Christians Say It’s Wrong to Evangelize https://www.christianitytoday.com/2019/02/half-of-millennial-christians-wrong-to-evangelize-barna/