It`s India!

[Guest power2u]

This is will not go down well with the egocentric American and Canadian church who generally think that the epicentre of christian happenings revolves around us.

The nation with the most missionaries is - India!

The India Missions Association is a union of 197 Indian missions agencies. In its October 2004 publication, Indian missionary Sam George writes "Between 1977 and 2002, Indian Christians became the largest cross-cultural missionary force in the world." Following political unrest in 1977, many foreign missionaries were expelled from India. As a result, Indian Christians were forced to take responsibility for evangelizing their neighbors instead of leaving it to the foreigners. Today, there are over 44,000 full-time Indian missionaries working outside their own culture, organized in more than 500 missions agencies.

Expulsion of foreign missionaries "was the best thing which could have happened to India"

"The expulsion of foreign missionaries in 1977, now known as 'The Emergency', may have been the best thing which could have happened to take the Gospel to India," writes George. Their expulsion was in effect a blessing in disguise.

The repression and persecution of Christianity in China and India in recent years have dispersed the Christians throughout both nations. Both colonialism and globalization have spread Indians throughout the world; there are Indians in over 120 nations. George asks "Is it possible that in the next 20 years, India will have not only the largest number of domestic missionaries, but also the largest number of overseas missionaries in the world?"

(Use a fixed-width font such as Courier to view this table.)

Nation Native domestic Foreign missionaries Overseas missionaries

missionaries in the nation

England 2,498 1,681, from 54 nations, 10,604 in 198 nations,

in 171 mission agencies 183 mission agencies

USA 17,703 1,873, from 115 nations, 60,200 in 220 nations,

in 139 mission agencies 631 mission agencies

Korea 1,636 1,311 from 41 nations, 10,646 in 156 nations,

in 46 mission agencies 166 mission agencies

Brazil 3,985 3,100 from 41 nations, 4,754 in 100 nations,

in 205 mission agencies 132 mission agencies

India 44,000 6,000 in 184 mission 5,000 in over 40

agencies nations

In the early 1990's, South Korean Christians set the aim of sending out 10,000 missionaries by the year 2000. They almost reached their aim, and there are now nearly 11,000 South Korean overseas missionaries, making South Korea the second largest missionary nation in the world, following the USA. The Chinese underground house churches aim to send out 100,000 missionaries by the year 2010. India, like China, has one huge asset: people. "So, " concludes George, "would it be possible to send 100,000 Indian missionaries overseas in the next 20 years?"

Source: Sam George www.imaindia.org by way of Friday Fax 2004/43. Used with permission

Edited January 29, 2005 by power2u

[IslandRose]

Another country doing an excellent job of sending out missionaries is the Philippines. There are Philippino missionaries all over Asia.