MINISTRIES WE SUPPORT

“And there are diversities of gifts, and the same Spirit; and there are diversities of ministries, and the same Lord . . .” (1 Cor. 12:4–5)

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All the latest news from the CCC, its ministries, and its global mission.

Trinitarian Protestantism, including historic Protestantism, evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and independent and non-denominational movements, now surpasses Roman Catholicism in terms of worldwide church attendance and is set to overtake Catholicism in total adherents sometime before 2050. The meta-analysis below combines findings from a number of studies, incorporating key data, including attrition rates, conversions, growth rates, and more. The data below is based primarily on explicit, current self-identification, rather than baptismal records.

Estimates of Self-Identified Christians Worldwide in 2025 and 2050

Executive Summary

This document provides estimates of the number of people—and their children–worldwide who explicitly self-identify as Roman Catholics, Protestants (including historical Protestants, evangelicals, Trinitarian Pentecostals, independent/non-denominational Trinitarian Christians, and unaffiliated Trinitarian Christians), and Eastern Orthodox Christians in 2025. The estimates prioritize self-identification over mere affiliation or baptismal records, accounting for disaffiliation and religious switching based on survey data. The global Christian population is estimated at 2.645 billion in 2025.^[1] Percentages are calculated relative to this total. Additionally, estimates for monthly religious service attendance are included, derived from global surveys on religious commitment.

Sources include the Center for the Study of Global Christianity's 2025 report^[1] and Pew Research Center data on self-identification and switching.^[2]

The results reveal that Trinitarian Protestantism, broadly-defined, has overtaken Roman Catholicism in terms of global church attendance (at least once per month) and is set to overtake Catholicism in terms of total worldwide adherents by 2050, and likely earlier. Protestantism will represent roughly half of global Christianity by 2050.

Estimated Number of Self-Identified Adherents Worldwide

Roman Catholics: Approximately 1.15–1.25 billion people self-identify as Roman Catholics in 2025, representing about 43.5–47% of global Christians. This figure adjusts the affiliated count of 1.273 billion downward by approximately 2% to account for disaffiliation, based on global switching rates where 5–12% of raised Catholics leave the faith.^[3] Higher disaffiliation occurs in regions like Europe and Latin America, offset by growth in Africa and Asia.

Protestants (including historical Protestants, evangelicals, Trinitarian Pentecostals, independents, non-denominational Trinitarian Christians, and unaffiliated Trinitarian Christians): Approximately 1.04–1.12 billion people self-identify in this group, representing about 39–42% of global Christians. This combines Protestants (629 million) and Independents (409 million) from mutually exclusive categories to avoid overlap, adjusted downward by 7% for disaffiliation, and includes unaffiliated Trinitarian Christians (151 million).^[1] Evangelicals (self-identified at around 420 million) and Trinitarian Pentecostals (around 634 million) are subsets within these categories.^[4] Oneness Pentecostals (non-Trinitarian) are excluded, classified as marginal Christians.

Eastern Orthodox: Approximately 200–220 million people self-identify as Eastern Orthodox, representing about 7–8% of global Christians. This separates from the total Orthodox figure of 292 million by subtracting Oriental Orthodox (around 72 million).^[1] Disaffiliation adjustments are minimal (around 2%), given high cultural retention in core regions.

The remaining global Christians include Oriental Orthodox and marginal groups, bringing the total to the aforementioned 2.645 billion.^[1]

Estimated Number of Adherents Attending Religious Services at Least Once Per Month

Attendance estimates are based on aggregated global surveys, with rates varying by region (higher in the Global South, lower in Europe/North America). Self-reported data from Pew and other sources indicate:

Roman Catholics: Around 35–44% attend at least monthly, equating to approximately 438–506 million. Rates are high in sub-Saharan Africa (around 70%) but lower in Europe (20–30%).^[5]

Protestants: Around 45–54% attend at least monthly (adjusted downward slightly due to inclusion of unaffiliated Christians with lower attendance rates), equating to approximately 504–560 million. Evangelical and Pentecostal subgroups show higher rates (60–70%), particularly in Africa and Latin America, while unaffiliated average around 20%.^[5]

Eastern Orthodox: Around 26–37% attend at least monthly, equating to approximately 57–75 million. Attendance is low in Russia (10–15%) but higher in Greece and the U.S. (30–40%).^[5]

Global trends show a decline in attendance in developed regions, but growth in the Global South sustains overall figures.^[5]

Current Estimation Summary (2025)

Group	Estimated Self-Identified Adherents	Percentage of Global Christians (2.645B)	Estimated Monthly Attendees
Roman Catholics	1.15–1.25 billion	43.5–47%	438–506 million
Protestants*	1.04–1.12 billion	39–42%	504–560 million
Eastern Orthodox	200–220 million	7–8%	57–75 million

*Includes historical Protestants, evangelicals, Trinitarian Pentecostals, independents, non-denominational Trinitarian Christians, and unaffiliated Trinitarian Christians, using exclusive categories to avoid double-counting.

Future Estimation Summary (2050)

Group	Estimated Self-Identified Adherents	Percentage of Global Christians (3.312B)	Estimated Monthly Attendees
Roman Catholics	1.33–1.45 billion	40–44%	465–638 million
Protestants*	1.48–1.60 billion	45–48%	666–864 million
Eastern Orthodox	220–240 million	7–8%	57–89 million

*Includes historical Protestants, evangelicals, Trinitarian Pentecostals, independents, non-denominational Trinitarian Christians, and unaffiliated Trinitarian Christians, using exclusive categories to avoid double-counting.

Note: Projections incorporate growth trends from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, adjusted for religious switching rates (e.g., net losses from Catholicism to Protestantism and unaffiliated, particularly in Latin America and Africa, as per Pew Research data) and conversions (e.g., gains in Pentecostalism projected to reach ~1 billion by 2050).

References

CBN News reports on the Covenant Christian Coalition in a recent article.

Read the original article here.

The CCC is committed to supporting clean drinking water projects across the developing world and our members are eager to support any organizations that share that same desire, as long as they also share our unwavering commitment to the gospel. This is why the CCC endorsed Living Water International in 2015. LWI is an incredible and Christ-focused ministry that since 1990 has completed over 18,000 water projects. To commemorate that endorsement, the CCC has launched a small fundraiser to support the LWI. You can make a big impact in the lives of many people who have limited or no access to clean drinking water by supporting this noble cause.

Click here to visit the CCC's fundraising page for Living Water International and please consider donating—anything helps, whether it be $100 or even $5. A little bit can make a big difference!

Riforma, Italy's premiere Protestant news publication, has reported on the Covenant Christian Coalition in a piece that discusses internal concerns raised by members of the World Evangelical Alliance about the WEA's seeming shift on important theological and moral issues, as well as its increasing ecumenical ties with the Roman Catholic Church.

Read the original article here.

The chapel at the World Council of Churches headquarters in Geneva

Christian Today published an article on January 17th discussing some concerns raised by members of the World Evangelical Alliance concerning that organization's supposed shift away from historic evangelical positions. In the article they mentioned the CCC:

Conservative evangelicals have long been suspicious of anything that looks like too-close engagement with the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church by the WEA and mainstream Protestants. A new evangelical grouping, Covenant Christian Coalition, is seeking to position itself as a conservative alternative umbrella group for evangelicals globally.

The original article can be found here.

NEW YORK, United States, Jan. 15, 2018 — A large number of evangelical churches frustrated with the political and theological persuasion of organizations like the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance have joined an alternative international ecumenical alliance called the Covenant Christian Coalition (CCC), which was founded in Dallas in 2015 by what was initially a small group of ministry leaders.

The alliance quickly caught the attention of more conservative-leaning churches in Africa, Asia and South America, which joined in droves. Even though the startup organization began in the Bible Belt of the United States, growth in the U.S. was almost immediately eclipsed by scores of churches and ministries joining in Nigeria, Uganda, Colombia, India and the Philippines, among other countries. The expansion spurred on leaders to draft formal rules in January 2017 and to set up an office in New York for handling all the correspondence coming in. The new rules stipulated an egalitarian leadership structure composed of pastors and ministers from member churches called “councillors.”

One such councillor from Colombia, Pastor Weimar Lopez of the Evangelical Disciples of Christ Church in Bogota, said his main reason for joining the CCC was to “find brothers with whom to share the cause of Christ.” He was overjoyed to realize that his church was not alone in its desire to be part of a global evangelical movement.

Another councillor, Pastor Grace Kigozi of Salvation Church of Christ in Kampala, Uganda, said his reason for joining was “to connect, get in touch with, and work together with ministers and ministries whose vision and purpose is to spread the word and together fulfill the Great Commission.” Attempting ministry in Uganda without the support of the CCC seemed like a dead-end to Kigozi: “The greatest challenge faced by my ministry is lack of support and inadequate partnership on my continent Africa that has crippled and slowed the pace of ministry growth and expansion.” The CCC seemed to him to be a sort of panacea.

Member churches and ministries clearly have evangelism at the forefront of their plans and they see liberal theological developments in the church as one of their greatest obstacles. The CCC’s conservative views and defense of evangelical doctrine have been a magnet for these groups, but have simultaneously given rise to criticism from more liberal detractors who reject biblical inerrancy. Some groups further to the right have been critical, too—rejecting the CCC’s insistence on faith alone as the path to salvation. Yet despite the criticisms from both ends of the spectrum, the organization seems to have struck a chord with a great number of Christians looking for international support for their views.

(This press release originally appeared on The Daily Telescope)

Weimar López is a Pastoral Councillor of the CCC

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Jan. 8, 2018 — A fast-growing Evangelical organization called the Covenant Christian Coalition is taking the world by storm and bringing together Christian leaders in dozens of denominations from every walk of life.

Weimar López, who planted the Iglesia Evangelica Discipulos de Cristo de Colombia church in Bogotá, is a member of the CCC's leadership team and says his reasoning for joining the movement was to "find brothers with whom to share the cause of Christ." Furthermore, he says it was encouraging "[to] realize that we are not alone in this process."

The CCC is an interdenominational organization that was founded by local Christian leaders in Dallas, Texas, in 2015. In three short years, it has quickly grown to encompass dozens of Christian groups worldwide and is managed by diverse leadership consisting of pastors and ministers hailing from the United States, South America, Nigeria and many other countries.

The organization though prefers the term "post-denominational" when speaking of itself and its many member churches, emphasizing that while many self-identify as non-denominational and others still prefer denominational confessions, all are united by historic Evangelical and Protestant theology, especially the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone.

CCC leaders are determined to bring greater unity among Protestants, but not in a purely ecumenical way that buries differences — rather in such a way that different confessions are respected so long as there is agreement on foundational matters.

López had been working for three years to get his church plant up-and-running before joining the CCC and had suffered discouragement, but was determined to press on. "From the moment of my conversion to God, He placed in me a desire to serve in the ministry. I have only seen His Grace sustaining me since then in this work." His Evangelical congregation is now thriving and he has set his sights on bigger things — including participation in the CCC's new worldwide movement.

Projects sponsored by the organization have sprung up around the world, including orphanages and schools in Uganda from where several members of the leadership team — called the Pastoral Council — hail.

The CCC has also funded environmentally friendly clean drinking water projects for the impoverished across Africa and South America, but despite these vocational accomplishments, members seem quick to tell people the real aim is evangelism and sharing the good news of Jesus.

With so many ecumenical organizations in existence, one might wonder what unique purpose, if any, the CCC fulfills, but the leadership is convinced that other interdenominational organizations have compromised their Christian convictions for the sake of lesser things and that the CCC is perhaps the first and only international organization broadly representing convictional, confessional Evangelical Protestants.

(This press release originally appeared on PR Newswire)

Pastor Grace Kigozi is one of the CCC's Pastoral Councillors

KAMPALA, Uganda, Jan. 11, 2018 — Christian leaders are calling it the birth of a new movement based on old ideas and a new creed. It's an international union of churches, ministries, and denominations called the Covenant Christian Coalition that adheres to evangelical Christianity and the key doctrines that sprung out of the Protestant Reformation. The CCC is perhaps the first largely conservative ecumenical movement that seeks to unite all evangelical Christians. The importance of biblical inerrancy and evangelism are forefront in the organization.

Churches and ministries all over the world have joined the movement since it first began just three years ago, including large numbers of Pentecostal and non-denominational evangelical churches in South America, Africa, the Philippines, and the United States. The Salvation Church of Christ in Uganda pastored by Grace Kigozi is one such church. “My main reason for joining the CCC was and still is to connect, get in touch with, and work together with ministers and ministries whose vision and purpose is to spread the word,” said Kigozi. He emphasized that only “together [can evangelicals] fulfill the Great Commission that Christ Jesus instructed us to obey.”

Part and parcel to the CCC is a modern creed called the Covenant. The Covenant is a universal, evangelical statement of faith that outlines the importance of biblical inerrancy, substitutionary atonement, and salvation through Christ alone. It is composed of twelve stanzas all beginning with “We believe…” and is written in broad enough language to include most evangelical Protestants, while excluding various sects and denominations that the leadership fears seek to distort the gospel. All churches and ministries that join the CCC, including Salvation Church of Christ, have agreed to accept the Covenant and abide by the truths contained therein. The Covenant has thus become a key unifying factor in the movement.

(This press release originally appeared in the Digital Journal)

The CCC has just opened the internet's premiere compendium of apologetics resources at www.hehodos.com.

Hē Hodos is an English transliteration of the Greek ἡ ὁδὸς, which means "The Way". This phrase is used by Jesus Christ in John 14:6 when He tells the Apostle Thomas that salvation and reconciliation with God can only happen through Him (Jesus). It is by its very nature an exclusivist term that Jesus used to categorically deny the possibility of salvation for anyone apart from the forgiveness of sins that only He can bestow. Before Christianity was called Christianity it was called by its adherents "The Way" in honor of this truth (Acts 9:2, 22:4, 24:14, 22).

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