The new face of Christianity will be the black woman," a renowned theologian told a Lexington audience Thursday.

Kwok Pui Lan, the William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., explained that in mid-2007, Europe laid claim to the greatest number of Christians in the world: 532 million, followed by Latin America at 525 million and Africa at 417 million. But by 2025, Africa will climb to the top spot with 634.6 million Christians, with Latin America a close second at 634.1 million and Europe dropping to third at 521 million.

"The challenge," she said, "is to reimagine Christianity in the 21st century."