By Floyd McClung - June, 2005

• Persecution and martyrdom of Christians will sharply increase as non-christian religious forces are threatened by the mass conversion of unreached peoples to Christ. Nationalistic Islamic and Hindu political parties such as the Taliban and BJP/RSS will continue to experience popularity as their leaders react to American foreign policy and the success of church planting movements and Christian aid workers.
The local church is reclaiming the initiative as the main sending force in global missions. Movements of local churches networks will arise across denominational lines. They will play a major role in mobilizing, training, placing and caring for workers on the field.
• The 21st Century will see an increase in clashes between major civilizations. Samuel Huntington identifies those civilizations as Western, Orthodox, Chinese, Latin American, Islamic, Hindu, Japanese, and African. This factor makes it vitally important to train and send out missionaries who have both an adequate understanding of the civilization they work in, but also the character necessary to withstand opposition as they plant churches and give aid to the poor.
• Global sending will replace the 20th century paradigm of First to Third World mobilization. Globalization will be facilitated by the ascendancy of the local church as a missions force in Africa, South America and Asia. This will be aided by communication technology, and easy access to international travel. English will continue to be the international language of communication.
• The role of the Holy Spirit will continue to be a major theological perspective in the 21st century church, along with the growing awareness of God’s glory as the primary goal of His redemptive mission on earth.
• God’s global outreach through the church will experience larger and more significant church planting movements in the 21st century. These people movements will occur in many parts of the world, particularly Northern India and China. These movements are a fulfillment of the prophecies found in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Psalm 2.
• The values-based leadership approach is radically changing mentoring and discipleship in the church world-wide. Leaders who have intentionally chosen their core values and imparted them to their followers will give lead to the church. The latter half of the 20th century witnessed the rise of the organizational paradigm of leadership, but there will be a shift to church based leadership model in this century.
• Non-formal and informal equipping models will dominate Education and training in the Third World church.
• The role of women in missions will re-emerge as a powerful force for God. Throughout much of the latter half of the 20th century the role of women was eclipsed by Western, male-dominated mission structures. There is a gathering momentum of women fully gifted and qualified for global ministries.
• Holistic mission will play a significant role in opening the door to church planting movements. The world will be increasingly shaken by man-made catastrophes, including the decimation of entire population segments through the spread of AIDS.
• The Pacific Rim countries will continue to dominate world trade and development. China and India will move center stage as world powers.
• Bi-vocational missionary activity will continue to rise in importance as many countries close their doors to traditional missionary activity. Missionaries will enter countries with passport skills that open doors to commerce and trade.
• The epicenter of Christianity has shifted to Asia. Asian churches will take the lead in developing and sending missionaries. Church planting movements will continue to emerge out of India, Korea, South Africa, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and surprisingly, China. These movements will led by the growing house church movement.
• Major amounts of finance will be released for missions initiatives in Western nations as trillions of dollars changes hands from boomers to their children. Giving will be done increasingly through local church based agencies and foundations as this allows donors greater confidence that their money is going where it will have the greatest impact.