The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia

Disturbing numbers

The Salt Lake Tribune has an article on the changing face of the mormon missionary force. As mormonism gradually becomes less and less North America focused, the mormon missionary focus and force is becoming less homogeneous.

What was really sobering were the numbers in a sidebar regarding the missionary forces of the mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Southern Baptists...

By the numbers: Missionaries

-- LDS: 53,868 full-time missionaries; 13,000,000 members

-- Southern Baptist Convention: 5,184 full-time missionaries (including: 3,029 career, 390 four year renewal term, 724 apprentice, 347 2-year terms, and 381 2-year for young people, 309 2-year retired); 16,300,000 members

-- Jehovah's Witnesses: 250 full-time missionaries, who work at least 130 hours a month; 6,741,444 active members who do at least an hour of proselytizing a month; 248,327 new members baptized in 2006

We need to reevaluate just how committed we are to mission work when the numbers are so dramatically disparate between the cult groups and orthodox Christianity.

(Hat Tip: Reformed Baptist Thinker)