Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, according to a recent study, more than doubling the growth of Christianity – presenting both a challenge and an opportunity.

Whether through the jihad of a violent religion or the siren call of a serene faith, Islam is on the rise. According to the Pew Research Center, the Islamic faith worldwide will increase by an estimated 73 percent by 2050, more than doubling the pace of Christianity. By the end of the century, according to the report, there will be more Muslims than Christians.

Christian apologist and lecturer Dr. Alex McFarland says one reason is because Muslims are having larger families.

"In 1994 Yasser Arafat, then president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said that they would win the world through the womb of the Arabic woman," he recalls.

The second reason, he points out, is because Islam is the youngest religion in the world, with a median age of 23.

"Only about 19 percent of evangelical young adults say Christianity is sufficient to meet all of their spiritual, emotional, and life needs," he shares. "[In contrast], 77 percent of Muslim young adults will never leave Islam and believe that Islam is sufficient to meet all of their needs."

Consequently McFarland says it's wise for the U.S. government to protect its borders. But now, he says, is the time for the Church to rise up and bring the gospel to the Muslim world. "The only worldview that has the evidence on its side, plus the power to change the human heart, is Christianity," he tells OneNewsNow.

If the Church fails, says McFarland, in ten years the U.S. will be facing some of the same problems as Europe, where several countries have been overrun with Muslim refugees.

The Muslim invasion of Europe

Soeren Kern, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, has devoted much of his time in recent years to studying the rise of Islam in Europe. During an interview Friday on American Family Radio, he stated that the trend toward "Islamization" in Europe is permanent and cannot be reversed.

"Essentially there's a big spiritual vacuum in Europe – and Islam is filling that very quickly," he began. "There are several countries in Europe that are worse shape than others. Particularly I'm very worried about Germany and France, Belgium, Netherlands, and the U.K."

In the case of Germany and France, said Kern, the process of Islamization has advanced to the point of no return.

"This is just a permanent shift in civilization," he said. "I'm not saying that the whole continent is going to be Islamized tomorrow, [but] what I'm seeing is that these demographic and cultural and social processes are so far advanced that they can't be reversed."

He also admitted that he grieves for those countries, particularly for Germany. "These are countries that were at the forefront of the Protestant Reformation of Christianity for 2,000 years – and it can't be reversed."

Listen to the entire interview with Kern

on AFR's "Sandy Rios in the Morning."