Religion: Mission Boom

The high tide of Protestant missions that once swept across the seas may seem to the unchurched an ebbing effort in a world of Communist persecution and colonial nationalism. But the tide is higher than ever, according to a new report by the Missionary Research Library. There are at least 10,000 more U.S. and Canadian Protestant missionaries at work around the world than there were in 1950, and the total figure of 25,058 is more than four times as large as at the turn of the century, when the ''missionary era" seemed at its height.

The extra missionary stream comes from the smaller fighting sects rather than the old established churches. Example: the Seventh-day Adventists, with a membership of only 291,567 in the U.S., have the most missionaries of all—2,000 men and women, including missionaries from the U.S. and other home bases, in 184 countries. And the Christian and Missionary Alliance (membership: 87,663) has 822 missionaries abroad, or twice the number supported by the Protestant Episcopal Church (membership in the U.S.: 3,034,851).

First among the North American Protestant mission countries is now India, with 1,883 from the U.S. and Canada; next comes Japan, with 1,549. The Near and Middle East can claim only 2.96% of the total missionary force. Protestant women missionaries now outnumber the men by three to two.