In
the year 2000, I was asked to write the cover article for the church growth
publication Net Results. The article was titled, “How to Motivate and
Guide Local Congregations into Global Ministry.” I included in the article some
significant statistics that I had unearthed. Although they have changed these
past 13 years, they are essential pondering for God’s people in relation to
what they focus on in life.
If
the World’s Population Were 100 People*:
- 50 would be female and 50 male
- 60 would be Asians
- 14 would be North and South Americans
- 11 would be European
- 15 would be Africans
- 25 would be under 15 years old
- 33 would be Christian
- 22 would be Muslim
- 14 would be Hindu
- 7 would be Buddhist
- 12 would believe in another religion
- 12 would not be religious
- 70 would be non-white
- 17 would be unable to read and write
- 15 would suffer from malnutrition
- 13 would not have access to safe drinking water
- 30 would be on the Internet
- 7 would have a college education
- 6 would own 59% the world’s wealth, and all 6 would be U.S. citizens
Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D. C., reported the
following**:
- $17 billion: The amount spent in the U.S. and Europe on pet food each year
- $13 billion: The increased annual amount needed to provide basic health care and nutrition for all people in developing countries
- $9 billion: The additional amount needed annually to provide clean water and safe sewers for the world’s population
- $8 billion: The amount that Americans spend each year on cosmetics
- $6 billion: The additional amount needed annually to provide basic education for everyone in the world
In
relation to the management of creation and the use of life, God’s people must
ask, “What do we and the world at large need to do to change things?”
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