Overview of the Kingdom of God

Before the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, he commanded us to make all the ethnic groups in the world his disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). About two thousand years have passed.

Today, among the world's approximately six billion people, the proportion of religious believers is as follows [population part]. Muslims believe that they believe in the one true God who created the universe, but they have not accepted the salvation of Jesus. Hindus believe in polytheism. Buddhists believe that everyone can become a god. The remaining 18 percent are people of other religious minorities or no faith.

The world's gross production (GWP) in 2001 was approximately US$47 trillion, $47,000,000,000 ($47 trillion dollars). Looking at the table above [gross production], we can see that Christianity has an absolutely positive effect on improving productivity.

The population of the United States accounts for less than 5% of the world's population, but its gross national product (GDP) accounts for 22% of the world's gross product (GWP). Christians in the United States account for 85% of the country's population.

The above table shows that although China’s gross national product (GDP) accounts for 12% of the world’s gross product (GWP), it is the country with the largest population in the world. Plus the Chinese speaking Chinese around the world, the proportion is even greater. According to the 21st Century Edition of Operation World (published in 2001), seven percent of China's population is Christian.

The United States, where 85% of the population is Christian, is rich in resources and has a huge gross national product. If we only open churches and preach the gospel in the United States, it will be difficult to reach 100% of people who believe in the Lord. That is to say, American Christians like to preach. It talks about the state of "gospel saturation". From an economic point of view, this is like entering a situation of marginal return diminishing. Although the resources invested are the same or more than before, the results are not as good as before, or even no longer effective. Observed from a chemical reaction, the reaction equilibrium has been reached. The speed of the reaction and the reverse reaction are almost the same, and there is no new net benefit. It is true that God is capable of anything (Luke 1:36), but this may only happen if American churches and Christians are willing to go abroad to open up churches and preach the gospel, so that the environment and spiritual situation in the United States can be changed.

Where are the most fertile fields for church development outside the United States? Currently, there are three ethnic groups in the world with the largest population and a very low proportion of believers. One is the Chinese (accounting for 22% of the world's population, Christians 7.3%) , the second is Indians (accounting for 17% of the world's population, Christians 2.4%), and the third is the ethnic group that believes in Islam (accounting for 20% of the world's population). In Islamic countries, politics and religion are unified, and the teachings are extreme, making it very difficult to preach the gospel. Eighty percent of India's population believes in Hinduism.

From this point of view, the most effective target group for missionary work may be the Chinese. The Chinese in China alone account for 22% of the world's population. Except for 7.3% people who are Christians, 8.4% Buddhists, and 2% Muslims, the others do not have strong and firm religious beliefs. Even if there is no progress in other ethnic groups in the world, as long as 78% of the Chinese people believe in Christ, more than 50% of the people in the world will believe in Christ. Put another way, if half of the Chinese and Indians who have already come to believe in Christ, more than 50% of the people in the world will believe in Christ. Both will exceed the lower limit goal of "Christianization" in a broad sense.

Christians who are familiar with the politics, economy, and culture of the United States and the Chinese, why not promote the vision, lead by example, and encourage North American churches and Christians (including English speakers) to open churches among the Chinese, preach the gospel to the Chinese, and then drive the first world Churches and Christians, preaching the gospel to the third world, and pioneering churches. Make good use of the resources of the Kingdom of God to saturate the first world with the gospel and spread it widely in the third world. Stand in the gap of this era and become a bridge of blessing.

Author profile

Dr. Yang Yongqing, founder and senior pastor of Christian Pioneer Church, CEO of Flying Eagle Publishing, holds a PhD in materials science from the University of Illinois (Champaign Campus) and holds a master's degree in business administration. There is a particular burden on leader development.