I was walking along the harbourside this morning; one of those quiet, necessary routines to keep the body steady and the mind from drifting too far. It was there I was stopped by a Jehovah’s Witness, gentle in manner, who asked how I was keeping. I knew, having once stood where he stood, how the conversation would unfold. It did not take long.
“You know, we are the only ones who are preaching God’s Kingdom.”
It is a confident claim. But confidence does not make something true.
I felt compelled to play the Devil’s advocate and answer plainly, as truth must prevail in such discussions: “No, you’re not.” Not out of hostility, but out of honesty. Before such a statement can stand, it must first define its terms. What does it mean to “preach the Kingdom”? If it means proclaiming God’s reign, calling people to repentance, and sharing the hope of Christ, then the claim quickly begins to unravel under even light examination.
Across the world today, there are roughly 420,000 to 450,000 foreign missionaries. These come from Catholic, Protestant, and various independent traditions. Some estimates place the number at around 445,000 currently active. That alone challenges the idea of exclusivity. These are not silent figures; they preach, teach, translate, build, and live out their message in cultures far from home.
And this is only the present moment—a snapshot.
Missionary work has been continuous for nearly two thousand years, stretching back to the early Church. The numbers have not remained static. In the 1980s, there were around 250,000 missionaries; today, that figure has grown significantly. Some serve for decades, others only briefly, but over time the accumulation is substantial. While no exact figure exists, a reasonable conclusion is unavoidable: across history, the number of those sent out to preach has reached into the millions, not merely the hundreds of thousands.
The difficulty in counting them only strengthens the point. Definitions vary—some count only foreign missionaries, while others include local evangelists. Records, especially before the modern era, are incomplete. Thousands of independent mission organisations operate without centralised tracking. Roles overlap: pastors, aid workers, and evangelists often carry out the same essential task under different titles.
Even beyond formal missionary work, the witness continues. Evangelical churches across the world maintain a steady presence—on streets, in communities, and increasingly online. They preach, invite, and disciple, drawing people from both local neighbourhoods and distant nations.
So, the claim that only one group preaches God’s Kingdom does not hold. It is not supported by history, by numbers, or by the lived reality of the global Church.
The truth is quieter, and perhaps more humbling: the message of the Kingdom has never belonged to one organisation. It has been carried—imperfectly, persistently—by countless voices across centuries. Not one stream, but many. Not one witness, but a multitude.
And that, I think, is closer to the shape of things as they really are.
The Jehovah’s Witness then said, “Ah, but they teach the Trinity,” which missed the point of the original claim about the exclusivity of preaching the Kingdom. That latter point regarding the Trinity I will take up soon, keeping in mind that I am only playing the Devil’s advocate dear reader.
References
Barrett, D. B., Johnson, T. M. and Crossing, P. F. (2001) World Christian Trends, AD 30–AD 2200: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus. Pasadena: William Carey Library.
Johnson, T. M. and Zurlo, G. A. (2023) World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edn. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Pew Research Center (2011) Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
World Evangelical Alliance (2022) State of the Great Commission Report. Available at: https://worldea.org (Accessed: 17 April 2026).
The Kingdom Is Not Preached by One Voice Alone
The Kingdom Is Not Preached by One Voice Alone
I was walking along the harbourside this morning; one of those quiet, necessary routines to keep the body steady and the mind from drifting too far. It was there I was stopped by a Jehovah’s Witness, gentle in manner, who asked how I was keeping. I knew, having once stood where he stood, how the conversation would unfold. It did not take long.
“You know, we are the only ones who are preaching God’s Kingdom.”
It is a confident claim. But confidence does not make something true.
I felt compelled to play the Devil’s advocate and answer plainly, as truth must prevail in such discussions: “No, you’re not.” Not out of hostility, but out of honesty. Before such a statement can stand, it must first define its terms. What does it mean to “preach the Kingdom”? If it means proclaiming God’s reign, calling people to repentance, and sharing the hope of Christ, then the claim quickly begins to unravel under even light examination.
Across the world today, there are roughly 420,000 to 450,000 foreign missionaries. These come from Catholic, Protestant, and various independent traditions. Some estimates place the number at around 445,000 currently active. That alone challenges the idea of exclusivity. These are not silent figures; they preach, teach, translate, build, and live out their message in cultures far from home.
And this is only the present moment—a snapshot.
Missionary work has been continuous for nearly two thousand years, stretching back to the early Church. The numbers have not remained static. In the 1980s, there were around 250,000 missionaries; today, that figure has grown significantly. Some serve for decades, others only briefly, but over time the accumulation is substantial. While no exact figure exists, a reasonable conclusion is unavoidable: across history, the number of those sent out to preach has reached into the millions, not merely the hundreds of thousands.
The difficulty in counting them only strengthens the point. Definitions vary—some count only foreign missionaries, while others include local evangelists. Records, especially before the modern era, are incomplete. Thousands of independent mission organisations operate without centralised tracking. Roles overlap: pastors, aid workers, and evangelists often carry out the same essential task under different titles.
Even beyond formal missionary work, the witness continues. Evangelical churches across the world maintain a steady presence—on streets, in communities, and increasingly online. They preach, invite, and disciple, drawing people from both local neighbourhoods and distant nations.
So, the claim that only one group preaches God’s Kingdom does not hold. It is not supported by history, by numbers, or by the lived reality of the global Church.
The truth is quieter, and perhaps more humbling: the message of the Kingdom has never belonged to one organisation. It has been carried—imperfectly, persistently—by countless voices across centuries. Not one stream, but many. Not one witness, but a multitude.
And that, I think, is closer to the shape of things as they really are.
The Jehovah’s Witness then said, “Ah, but they teach the Trinity,” which missed the point of the original claim about the exclusivity of preaching the Kingdom. That latter point regarding the Trinity I will take up soon, keeping in mind that I am only playing the Devil’s advocate dear reader.
References
Barrett, D. B., Johnson, T. M. and Crossing, P. F. (2001) World Christian Trends, AD 30–AD 2200: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus. Pasadena: William Carey Library.
Johnson, T. M. and Zurlo, G. A. (2023) World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edn. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Pew Research Center (2011) Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
World Evangelical Alliance (2022) State of the Great Commission Report. Available at: https://worldea.org (Accessed: 17 April 2026).
Center for the Study of Global Christianity (2024) Status of Global Mission. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Available at: https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/ (Accessed: 17 April 2026).