Where the church stands in Germany
In 2022 fewer than half of Germans belonged to one of the two big national churches for the first time in modern history — and roughly 900,000 people formally left them that year alone. Among those who remain members, regular worship is rare; evangelical believers are around two in every hundred people.
Germany is also one of Europe's great meeting places of the nations. Around three million people of Turkish descent live there, and more than a million refugees have arrived since 2015 from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. Churches across the country have baptised Iranian and Afghan converts in numbers no one expected.
Signs of hope
Iranian, Afghan and Arab refugees coming to faith in German congregations, and new church plants among immigrants.
The honest difficulty
A rapid exodus from the national churches, deep secularism, and large Muslim communities few churches know how to reach.
What "Less-reached" means
There is a church, but it is small relative to the population, or the Christian identity is far more widespread than active faith. Much of the nation can still live a whole life without meeting a follower of Jesus.
In Germany the majority religious context is Christianity (~48%), no religious affiliation (~43%), Islam (~6%). The largest population still considered without meaningful Gospel access is the Turkish and Kurdish communities (around 3 million people of Turkish descent), plus Arab, Afghan and other Muslim diaspora.
How to pray for Germany
Prayer is not a substitute for going; it is how going begins. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Pray for renewal in the land of the Reformation.
- Thank God for refugees from closed nations finding Christ in Germany.
- Ask God for churches that can welcome Turkish and Kurdish neighbours.
- Pray for a generation that has left the church to encounter Jesus himself.
People groups in Germany
A nation is not one people. These are the groups profiled on this site who live here — each with its own language, its own Scripture status, and its own reasons the Gospel has or has not reached it.
Questions people ask about Germany
Is Germany an unreached nation?
Germany is classified as less-reached. There is a church, but it is small relative to the population, or the Christian identity is far more widespread than active faith. Much of the nation can still live a whole life without meeting a follower of Jesus. Roughly 48% of the population identifies as Christian and about 2% as evangelical, with an estimated 30 of its 90 people groups still considered unreached. Figures are rounded estimates and vary by source and year.
How many Christians are there in Germany?
About 48% of Germany's roughly 84 million people identify as Christian — approximately 40 million people. Around 2% are evangelical. The largest group still without meaningful Gospel access is the Turkish and Kurdish communities (around 3 million people of Turkish descent), plus Arab, Afghan and other Muslim diaspora.
How can I pray for Germany?
Pray for renewal in the land of the Reformation. Thank God for refugees from closed nations finding Christ in Germany. Pick one of these, pray it for two minutes a day for a week, and ask one other person to pray it with you.