Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
An in-depth study finds that Spirit-empowered Christianity is growing exponentially around the world and shows no signs of slowing.
Oral Roberts University will hold an event on February 24 to release new data on that growth around the globe. Dr. Todd Johnson, a world-renowned author and researcher, has spent the last three years studying the growth of Spirit-empowered Christianity and will be sharing his findings.
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Johnson’s research demonstrates the rapid spread of Spirit-empowered Christianity through recent history, growing at nearly four times the rate of both general Christianity and the world’s population between 1900 and 2020. His research also shows Spirit-empowered Christianity growing worldwide, with Brazil, the United States and Nigeria topping the list of highest number of Spirit-empowered Christians in their populations.
Johnson is a distinguished professor of missions and global Christianity and co-director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. He cowrote the World Christian Encyclopedia, second edition, and launched the online World Christian Database.
The groundbreaking study was funded by Empowered21 (E21), a relational leadership network housed at ORU that is helping shape the future of the Spirit-empowered movement throughout the world. Spirit-empowered Christians are defined as those who place an emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit in their faith praxis.
“Empowered21’s vision is to see every person on earth have an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit by Pentecost 2033, and to do that we need this first-of-its-kind research to guide us,” said Dr. William M. Wilson, ORU president and E21Global co-chair. “This research backs up what we are seeing at E21 events around the globe, which are drawing more and more believers who are experiencing life-changing encounters with the Holy Spirit.”
One E21 event that will draw thousands this spring is the Jeruasalem2020 Empowered21 Global Congress, a gathering of Spirit-empowered believers during the week of Pentecost, providing them an opportunity to experience the Holy Land and celebrate what the Holy Spirit is doing around the world. Johnson will also present his research at this event May 31 through June 3.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
