ABSTRACT
The most significant development in the history of Christianity has been the huge expansion of the faith worldwide, and the decisive shift of its centre of gravity outside Europe. This chapter charts this development, arguing that it has been evangelical and charismatic groupings that have benefitted most from this global expansion. It attempts to quantify the growth of evangelical and Pentecostal churches in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, since the 1960s in particular. The chapter reflects on the nature of Christianity popular in these locations, and the way in which many of these new groupings have adapted to their host cultures. It concludes with reflections on the present condition of Global Christianity, and makes some considered predictions about its future prospects. The chapter argues that future studies of evangelicalism must pay close attention to the global realities of the contemporary evangelical movement.
