What is the fastest growing Christian Denomination? Why do you think it is?

[Guojing]

As soon as you show proof - I will. I will not on your say so.

The proof is in the video link that you "don't watch or pay attention to it - it is a waste of time".

 

[ViaCrucis]

One of the more influential and growing movements within the larger Pentecostal/Charismatic sphere is NAR.

I don't think "church growth" is a good metric for spiritual health or gauging the power and work of the Spirit. More important things are spiritual formation, biblical and theological literacy, faithfulness, and discipleship.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Always in His Presence]

One of the more influential and growing movements within the larger Pentecostal/Charismatic sphere is NAR.

It was - and it still exists to an extent, but does not carry real influence system wide. Like and other denomination, there are adherents that follow some schisms, but the schism doesn't define the whole.

I don't think "church growth" is a good metric for spiritual health or gauging the power and work of the Spirit. More important things are spiritual formation, biblical and theological literacy, faithfulness, and discipleship.

-CryptoLutheran

Producing fruit does though. If new believers (the precious fruit of the Earth) are not being added, then the organization (Denomination) is not reaching the lost, which is a direct command of our Lord Jesus Christ.

IOW - How do you go and make disciples as commanded and not grow?

 

[ViaCrucis]

How do you go and make disciples as commanded and not grow?

Is disciple-making a numbers game? If a thousand people join a religious movement or group, does that alone constitute disciple-making? Let's say a thousand people join a religious movement every day for a month, that's a lot of people--but what if none of those people are being taught what Jesus said? What if none of them are being fed and nourished spiritually, and there is no call to to change and daily repentance.

Let's also add a comparison, let's say in the same month span one person jointed a religious group, but is being taught what Jesus said, is being fed and nourished spiritually, there is the preaching of repentance, and of mercy and forgiveness, and there is a call to daily discipleship for that one new convert.

Which, of the two options, is making disciples? The one where no disciple is made though tens of thousands join; or the one where one disciple is made.

What should be our metric of spiritual health? A tree with many branches but bearing no fruit; or a tree with a single branch bearing rich fruit?

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Always in His Presence]

Is disciple-making a numbers game?

Is growing a flock a numbers game? Or is it the result of being a good shepherd?

If a thousand people join a religious movement or group, does that alone constitute disciple-making?

Nope -

Let's say a thousand people join a religious movement every day for a month, that's a lot of people--but what if none of those people are being taught what Jesus said? What if none of them are being fed and nourished spiritually, and there is no call to to change and daily repentance.

What if they do?

Let's also add a comparison, let's say in the same month span one person jointed a religious group, but is being taught what Jesus said, is being fed and nourished spiritually, there is the preaching of repentance, and of mercy and forgiveness, and there is a call to daily discipleship for that one new convert.

Both are hypothetical in nature - you can't give a specific answer to a hypothetical. Unless you are calling one group not a Christian group, which will get you banned here. So I can not and will not address your hypothetical.

What should be our metric of spiritual health? A tree with many branches but bearing no fruit; or a tree with a single branch bearing rich fruit?

-CryptoLutheran

How about the third metric? A tree which is bearing much fruit and has produced trees world wide all bearing much fruit?

 

[Always in His Presence]

One of the greatest Evangelical Preachers of our time was Dr. Billy Graham. Over 1,000,000,000 people reached with the Gospel of Jesus world wide, with hundreds of millions accepting the gift of Salvation

Remember Evangelicals are not a single denomination:

Here's a breakdown of some of the most prominent evangelical denominations:

Major Evangelical Denominations​

Denomination	Key Characteristics
Baptist	Emphasizes believer’s baptism by immersion and congregational governance. Includes groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches USA.
Pentecostal	Focuses on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and healing. Includes Assemblies of God and Church of God (Cleveland, TN).
Methodist	Originated with John Wesley; emphasizes personal holiness and social justice. Includes United Methodist Church, Wesleyan Church, and Free Methodist Church.
Presbyterian (Evangelical branches)	Governed by elders; emphasizes Reformed theology. Some branches, like the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, are considered evangelical.
Non-denominational Evangelical Churches	Independent churches that uphold evangelical beliefs without formal ties to a denomination. Examples include Life.Church and Elevation Church.
Charismatic Movements	Found within various denominations (even Catholic and Anglican), emphasizing spiritual gifts and personal experience with the Holy Spirit.

Evangelicalism isn't a single denomination—it's a movement that cuts across many traditions

The same is true with Charismatics:

Charismatic Christianity emphasizes the gifts of the Holy Spirit—like speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing—and has influenced a wide range of denominations. Here's a breakdown of key groups associated with the Charismatic movement:

Charismatic Denominations & Movements​

Group	Description
Pentecostal Churches	These are foundational to the Charismatic tradition. Includes denominations like the Assemblies of God, Church of God (Cleveland, TN), and International Pentecostal Holiness Church.
Charismatic Movement within Mainline Churches	Emerged in the 1960s–70s, bringing charismatic practices into historic denominations like the Episcopal Church, Lutheran Church, and Presbyterian Church.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal	A movement within the Roman Catholic Church that embraces charismatic worship and spiritual gifts, especially since the late 1960s.
Neo-Charismatic Churches	Independent or non-denominational churches that embrace charismatic theology but aren’t formally Pentecostal. Examples include Vineyard Churches, Calvary Chapel, and Hillsong Church.
Third Wave Movement	A more recent wave of charismatic influence, often found in churches like the Association of Vineyard Churches and other evangelical groups that emphasize signs and wonders without traditional Pentecostal structures.

Charismatic Christianity is more of a movement than a single denomination—it flows across many traditions and continues to evolve

 

[Always in His Presence]

Moved from the other thread - it really belongs here:

The answer to your question, "How do you show you have ecclesial authority and divine favour", seems very obvious. You do what is pleasing to God, you teach what is true, and you don't divert from those two things.

I agree - and that produces fruit and causes growth. I've been doing it for 40+ years and it never fails to produce fruit.

Acts 2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.​

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Moved from the other thread - it really belongs here:


I agree - and that produces fruit and causes growth. I've been doing it for 40+ years and it never fails to produce fruit.

Acts 2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.​

why are you telling me about your ministry and life. I had answered a question that you raised about what a priest would do in a typical week. my answer was straightforward: why not ask a priest?

 

[Always in His Presence]

The answer to your question, "How do you show you have ecclesial authority and divine favour", seems very obvious. You do what is pleasing to God, you teach what is true, and you don't divert from those two things.

Amen - and that is exactly what I have been doing for 4 decades and it produces fruit and the church grows every time.

John 15:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

 

[Always in His Presence]

why are you telling me about your ministry and life. I had answered a question that you raised about what a priest would do in a typical week. my answer was straightforward: why not ask a priest?

answered in the other thread where it is on topic.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

The fastest-growing Christian denomination globally is Pentecostalism, particularly its Charismatic expressions. Estimates suggest it has grown from fewer than 1 million adherents in 1900 to over 500 million by 2025, with projections to reach 1 billion by 2050. This growth, driven by high conversion rates and active evangelism, is especially strong in the Global South—Africa, Asia, and Latin America—where Pentecostals thrive in economically distressed areas, offering vibrant worship and community networks. Annual growth rates for Pentecostals and Charismatics are around 1.88%, outpacing other Christian groups like Evangelicals (1.8%) and Catholics (1.3%).

The fastest-growing church in the world today is widely considered to be the underground evangelical church in Iran. According to research from Operation World and reports from The Gospel Coalition, Iran has the highest rate of evangelical growth globally, despite intense persecution and legal restrictions on Christian practice

 

[Always in His Presence]

The fastest-growing Christian denomination globally is Pentecostalism, particularly its Charismatic expressions. Estimates suggest it has grown from fewer than 1 million adherents in 1900 to over 500 million by 2025, with projections to reach 1 billion by 2050. This growth, driven by high conversion rates and active evangelism, is especially strong in the Global South—Africa, Asia, and Latin America—where Pentecostals thrive in economically distressed areas, offering vibrant worship and community networks. Annual growth rates for Pentecostals and Charismatics are around 1.88%, outpacing other Christian groups like Evangelicals (1.8%) and Catholics (1.3%).

The fastest-growing church in the world today is widely considered to be the underground evangelical church in Iran. According to research from Operation World and reports from The Gospel Coalition, Iran has the highest rate of evangelical growth globally, despite intense persecution and legal restrictions on Christian practice

Yes in ONE COUNTRY Evangelical growth rate is higher than the Evangelical Growth rate globally.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Yes in ONE COUNTRY Evangelical growth rate is higher than the Evangelical Growth rate globally.

I am curious to know, why you started this thread? Do you attach some significance or something, like divine approval for instance, to The growth rate of churches?

 

[Always in His Presence]

I am curious to know, why you started this thread?

It is found in the title and OP

Do you attach some significance or something, like divine approval for instance, to The growth rate of churches?

No. That is something mentioned only by you.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

It is found in the title and OP

No. That is something mentioned only by you.

I am not so sure that it is profitable for either of us, to exchange messages on any topic.

 

[Always in His Presence]

I am not so sure that it is profitable for either of us, to exchange messages on any topic.

That decision is yours - Personally, I like being challenged and I have learned a couple of things from you.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Is growing a flock a numbers game? Or is it the result of being a good shepherd?

Nope -

What if they do?

Both are hypothetical in nature - you can't give a specific answer to a hypothetical. Unless you are calling one group not a Christian group, which will get you banned here. So I can not and will not address your hypothetical.

How about the third metric? A tree which is bearing much fruit and has produced trees world wide all bearing much fruit?

The whole point of the hypothetical is that numbers, on their own, don't say anything about the spiritual health of a religious movement or organization. A church's faithfulness is not measured in membership count, and so the question about what church, religious movement, or group has the highest numbers or the most numerical growth is simply not a way to determine its spiritual quality.

All I'm asking is if you can agree with that as a matter of principle.

The largest Christian organization in the world is the [Roman] Catholic Church; if raw numbers are the metric by which we determine spiritual health then the most productive, most fruitful, religious organization in the world is Catholicism. I do not think you believe that.

If we look in other times, for example the 19th century, one of the fastest growing religious movements was Mormonism, from its founding in 1830 to the year 1900 it went from Joseph Smith and a handful of people around him, to an international religious movement of hundreds of thousands of members. That level of growth and popularity of the Mormon movement does not translate to the Mormon church being a spiritually health, spiritually productive, or fruitful religious organization or movement--and I think you would also agree with me on that.

No, I am not comparing Pentecostalism/Charismaticism to Mormonism; I am using Mormonism to illustrate a point that numerical growth is not the metric of determining the quality of a church or religious movement.

The question of "What is the fastest growing Christian denomination" is interesting data, and it can lead to meaningful questions as to what is fueling that growth--it's interesting from a sociological and psychological perspective. But if there is to be any spiritual significance attached to it, that requires digging deeper. We can't look to growth as, itself, evidence of good spiritual formation; we have to look to the spiritual formation itself--its quality and substance--to determine whether that growth is, from the perspective of Christian missions and carrying the Gospel to the nations, a spiritual positive.

What is the fruit being produced? Is it good fruit? That's the metric, that's what is important.

-CryptoLutheran