Here's a New York Times article on the fast-growing (to put it mildly) African (Nigerian) Redeemed Christian Church of God. (HT: Smart Christian) As the article rightly points out, the heart and center of Christianity is no longer Europe.
This is the face of 21st century Christianity: colossal, restless -- and African. There is no better symbol of it than the Redeemed Church, and the insatiable ambitions of its guiding hand, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. The savvy former mathematician leads the fastest-growing Christian movement from a continent that's rapidly putting its stamp on the faith around the world.
The Redeemed Church is a prime lesson in the shifting currents of Christianity. Centuries after the Gospel was brought to sub-Saharan Africa by colonizers and missionaries, the faith is coming back to the West. The forms are passionate and powerful. . .
You want to see where Christianity is heading?'' said Campbell Shittu Momoh, an author on Nigerian religious affairs. ' 'Come look at Nigeria. It's already here.''
No one is clear how deeply the Pentecostal-inspired churches will change the faith. They only are sure that it's happening and Africa is the engine. . . .
The demographic center of Christianity is now located near Timbuktu in northwest Africa and is drifting south each year.
The "prosperity gospel" this church preaches makes me uncomfortable, but I like the idea of a fresh fervency moving through the Church worldwide.