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Church History

There is no branch of history as diverse as the story of the Christian Church. It spans two millennia, every continent, and factors into just about every major event in some form or another, but it's not just an interesting tale or adventure story that happens to be true. The history of the Church is the history of God's people and His direct dealings with mankind.

It's also not just an academic discipline. That's not to say we don't need scholars willing to devote their lives and talents to studying it as such, because we do. It's only to say that it's not merely academic, that the study of Church history is as much for our spiritual benefit and growth as for our intellectual knowledge and maturity.

One of the best ways to engage the subject is as a story. The lives of godly men and women make a great starting place, and provide context for things like the Great Schism, the Protestant Reformation, and the birth of Neo-orthodoxy. Contrary to popular opinion, making the study of history personal isn't an impediment; this is especially true when learning about the Church and past saints, who are our spiritual forebears.

Spiritual forebears, that is, who had an immense impact on the secular as well as the spiritual realm. The printing of books was realized through the work of Johannes Gutenberg, who built his printing press to make Bibles; David Livingstone explored much of unknown Africa in order to share the Gospel with unreached tribes; Hudson Taylor made inroads into China as a missionary long before the West was generally admitted. (For locals, the Pacific Northwest was largely settled through missionary activity.)

There are plenty of lowlights, too. Persecution and hardship are common themes in the story of God's people, and while we usually look back to the Roman holocausts, the 20th century saw more Christian martyrdoms than any previous century and the 21st century is already shaping up to be much worse. And that's not even addressing the damage done in the name of Christ.

Some might suppose Church history should be less distinctly human, but that's to confuse Christ Himself with His Body. In His ineffable wisdom, God ordained fallen humans to comprise His people; our sins are forgiven, not expelled, and perfection is something only enjoyed once we pass from this life into the eternal one.

Still, God's hand is present and active in all of history, not least in the history of the Church. It's a story we neglect at our own peril as followers of Christ—we cannot imagine our generation is the first to encounter attacks from secularism, or to have discovered orthodox doctrine, or to successfully identify the marks of a healthy congregation.

The past is our measure for most things. What Christians have always believed, how they have always worshipped, how they have always prayed: these are our standards for thought and practice. That's not to say there's no room for progress, but it's only progress if it doesn't counter or depart from the historically established truths of the faith.

Church history is a cornerstone of Christian education. We think it's just as important as science, English, math, or social studies, and in many ways more so. That doesn't mean those disciplines should be neglected, but that they should be contextualized within the story of God's people. As you study, revel in the grace of a God whose will is accomplished even through the chief of sinners and the weakest of men.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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88 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Missionaries, Evangelists & Pastors, 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Alexander Mackay
Heroes of the Faith Series
by Sophia L. Fahs
from A Beka Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
Amy Carmichael of Donhavur
by Frank L. Houghton
from CLC Publications
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Autobiography of Charles G. Finney
by Charles G. Finney
from Bethany House
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.00
Autobiography of Charles G. Finney
by Charles G. Finney
from Bethany House
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Biography of James Hudson Taylor
by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor
from Hodder & Stoughton Religious
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Bombs and Blessings
by Retha Hazel Eldridge
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Born Again
by Charles Colson
from Chosen Books
for 9th grade-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Bring Your Eyes and See
International Adventures
by Steve Goode, Mary Goode
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$12.00
Chance to Die
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Revell Publishing
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$22.99
China Cry
by Nora Lam with Richard Schneider
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
D. L. Moody
by Kevin Belmonte
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
$12.00
David Livingstone
by C. Silvester Horne
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75
David Livingstone
Heroes of the Faith Series
by Basil Mathews
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Dayuma
by Ethel Emily Wallis
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Divine Light
Leaders in Action Series
by David Vaughan
from Cumberland House
Biographies for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees
by Thomas Hale
from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$15.99
Evidence Not Seen
by Darlene Deibler Rose
from HarperCollins
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Explorers, Missionaries, and Trappers
by Kieran Doherty
from Oliver-Nelson Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Five Pioneer Missionaries
by Various
from Banner of Truth Trust
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$13.00 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Founding Father
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Spurgeon
by Iain H. Murray
2nd edition from Banner of Truth Trust
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Francis Asbury
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
George Muller of Bristol
by Arthur T. Pierson
from Fleming H Revell Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
George Whitefield
by Arnold A. Dallimore
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.50
George Whitefield: Wayfaring Witness
by Stuart C. Henry
from Abingdon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
God's Mountain Man
by Esther Vogt
from Gospel Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
God's Smuggler
by Brother Andrew
from Chosen Books
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
from Bantam Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom
35th Anniversary Edition from Chosen Books
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Hudson Taylor
Men of Faith
by J Hudson Taylor
2nd edition from Bethany House
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Hudson Taylor and Maria
by J. C. Pollock
from Zondervan
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
If I Perish
by Esther Ahn Kim
from Moody Press
Biography for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
In My Father's House
by Corrie Ten Boom
First Edition from Revell Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
In My Father's House
by Corrie Ten Boom
Book Club Edition from Power Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of the Source
by Neil Anderson, Hyatt Moore
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
Missionary Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Isobel Kuhn
Women of Faith
by Lois Hoadley Dick
from Bethany House
for 5th-10th grade
in Men & Women of Faith (Location: BIO-FAITH)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
J. Hudson Taylor
by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor
from Moody Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Jason Lee
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John Bunyan
by William Deal
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John Newton
by Catherine Swift
from Bethany House
for 5th-10th grade
in Men & Women of Faith (Location: BIO-FAITH)
John Wesley
Men of Faith
by Basil Miller
from Bethany House
Biography for 6th-10th grade
in Men & Women of Faith (Location: BIO-FAITH)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Jonathan Edwards
by Stephen J. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Joni
by Joni Tada
from Zondervan
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Joni
by Joni Eareckson Tada
from Zondervan
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Joni
by Joni Tada
from Zondervan
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Journals of Jim Elliot
by Jim Elliot
from Fleming H Revell Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Living on the Devil's Doorstep
International Adventures
by Floyd McClung
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lone Journey
by Jeanette Eaton, illustrated by Woodi Ishmael
from Harcourt
for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Lords of the Earth
by Don Richardson
Reprint. from Regal Books
for 9th-Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Man Called Peter
by Catherine Marshall
from Evergreen Farm
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
by James Daugherty
from Viking Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Marcus Whitman: The Great Command
by Nard Jones
2nd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Maria
by Maria von Trapp
from Creation House
for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Marriage to a Difficult Man
by Elisabeth D. Dodds
from Audobon Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Slessor
by Basil Miller
from Zondervan
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Mimosa
by Amy Carmichael
from Christian Literature Crusade
for 9th-Adult
in History of Missions (Location: XCH-MIS)
$11.99
Minka & Margaret
by Phyllis Thompson
3rd Printing from Hodder & Stoughton
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mission to Cathay
by Madeleine Polland
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.50 (4 in stock)
Missionary Patriarch
by John G. Paton
from Vision Forum
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.00 (2 in stock)
Never Dies the Dream
by Margaret Landon
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
On Call
Jaffray Collection of Missionary Portraits
by David C. Thompson, MD
from Christian Publications, Inc.
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Passion for the Impossible
by Miriam Huffman Rockness
from Discovery House Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pigtail and Chopsticks Man
by Jim Cromarty
2010 Printing from Evangelical Press
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Saint Patrick
by Jonathan Rogers
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
$12.00
Sergeant York and the Great War
by Alvin C. York
from My Father's World
Autobiography for 7th-Adult
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$22.00
Servant of Slaves
by Grace Irwin
from Paideia Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Men
by Eric Metaxas
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Men
by Eric Metaxas
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99
Seven Women
by Eric Metaxas
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99
Shorter Life of D. L. Moody
Moody Colportage Library #83
by A. P. Fitt
from Moody Press
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Skipper of the Sentinel
by May Cole Kuhn
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Splendor of God
by Honore Morrow
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Spurgeon
by Ernest Bacon
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.75 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Taking on Giants
by Joe Portale
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
Through Gates of Splendor
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Tyndale House
Biography for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Through Gates of Splendor
by Elisabeth Elliot
40th Anniversary from Tyndale House
Missionary Biography for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
To the Golden Shore
from Judson Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Tommorow You Die
International Adventures
by Reona Peterson Joly
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Tortured for Christ
by Richard Wurmbrand
50th Anniversary Edition from David C. Cook
Autobiography for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Where Christ is Still Tortured
by Richard Wurmbrand
from Marshalls
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Whitman Massacre of 1847
by Catherine, Elizabeth, and Matilda Sager
from Ye Galleon Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Whitman Massacre of 1847
by Catherine, Elizabeth, and Matilda Sager
from Ye Galleon Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
William Bradford
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Eerdmans
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
William Carey
by Basil Miller
from Bethany House
for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
William Penn
by Catherine Owens Peare
from University of Michigan Press
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Wurmbrand: Tortured for Christ
by Voice of the Martyrs
from David C. Cook
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
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