Statistics

 

“We talk of the Second Coming; half of the world has never heard of the first.” - Oswald J. Smith

The truth is the church’s global missions situation is more dire than most understand, and the statistics make that impossible to ignore. The numbers reveal a world where billions still live and die without meaningful access to the gospel, not because the church lacks resources, but because those resources are not being mobilized properly. To grasp the seriousness of the Great Commission today, we must be willing to look honestly at what the data shows about need, opportunity, and responsibility.

THE WORLD AND CHRISTIANITY

Global Christianity at a Glance 

  • World population: ~8.2 billion 

  • Christians worldwide: ~2.6 billion (32%) 

  • Non-Christians: ~5.5 billion (68%) 

Source: World Christian Database, 2024; Pew Research Center

People Groups and the Unreached 

  • Total people groups worldwide: ~10,400

  • Unreached people groups (UPGs): ~4,500 (43%)

Sources: Joshua Project (2025); World Christian Database 

Additional Statistics

  • 70,000+ people die every day in the unreached world without Jesus. (Baxter, 2007)

  • 70% of evangelical Christians have never even been told about the 1.6 billion unevangelized people in the world. (World Evangelization Research Center)

What this means

Today, the majority of the world’s population is not Christian, and Jesus addresses this reality through the Great Commission, calling His followers to make disciples of all nations. In Scripture, “nations” does not primarily refer to modern political countries, but to ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups—commonly called people groups. When the world is viewed this way, it becomes clear that a significant portion of humanity exists outside the ordinary reach of Christian witness.

Of the world’s people groups, over 40% are considered unreached, meaning they have little to no access to the gospel, not merely that they are non-Christian. In these contexts, people never even have a chance to reject the Gospel - they live and die without ever hearing it at all.

Yet most Christians are completely unaware of this reality and most churches are not actively involved in bringing the gospel to these remaining unreached peoples. This is why GC works EXCLUSIVELY among unreached people groups.

MISSIONS FUNDING AND ALLOCATION

Unreached Giving 

  • Total annual Christian giving worldwide: ~$900 billion 

  • Giving toward foreign missions: ~2% 

  • Giving toward unreached peoples: <1% 

Source: World Christian Trends, Barrett & Johnson; Lausanne Movement

Additional Statistics

  • In AD 100 there were 12 unreached people groups for every congregation of believers. Now there is 1 unreached people group for every 1000 congregations. (Winter, 2009)

  • 818 unreached people groups have never been targeted by any Christian agency ever. (World Evangelization Research Center)

  • 40% of the church’s entire global foreign mission resources are being deployed to just 10 oversaturated countries. (World Evangelization Research Center)

What this means

“If ten men are carrying a log—nine of them on the little end and one at the heavy end—and you want to help, which end will you lift on?” — William Borden

The answer seems obvious: you would help the man struggling at the heavy end. Yet when it comes to world evangelization, the Western churches continues to overwhelmingly prioritize reaching regions that already have access to the Gospel. Meanwhile, the least reached people groups receive hardly any attention, receiving less than 1% of all Christian giving. GC believes that this is the greatest challenge in missions today.

Another factor to consider here is indigenous missionaries. These workers know the local language, understand the culture, and cannot be deported. They can be supported at a fraction of the cost of sending foreign missionaries. Despite representing the most effective missionary force ever seen, they receive only 10% of the resources allocated to reaching unreached people groups. In other words, for every $100 given by the Western church toward missions, only $0.10 goes to native missionaries serving in unreached communities. This is startling - and it has to change. This is why GCP works exclusively with indigenous missionaries who are already inside unreached people groups.

CITED RESOURCES

Sources

Mark R. Baxter, The Coming Revolution: Because Status Quo Missions Won’t Finish the Job (Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing, 2007), p. 12.

Winter, Ralph D., and Bruce A. Koch. 2009. Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge. In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 531-46. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.

Source for “Money and Missions” Pie Chart:
International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 39, No. 1
World Christian Database, 2015,*Barrett and Johnson. 2001. World Christian Trends, pg 656
Todd Johnson, Global Atlas of Christianity, pg 296
Bob Finley, Reformation in Foreign Missions, pg. 178 & 244