Classic art masterpieces used as illustrations
TL;DR:
The resources linked on this page trace 2,000 years of Christian missionary expansion, with an emphasis on the past four centuries. They will help you explore key eras and figures—from the Moravians and William Carey to Ralph Winter—who helped shape global evangelism. The materials include timelines, syllabi, biographies, crossword puzzles, and study guides covering major epochs of missions history (Roman, Barbarian, Viking, Muslim, and global outreach).
This page and the resources on this site linked from it are Open Educational Resources (OER).
This course examines 2,000 years of Christianity's worldwide expansion. It will include an in-depth look at the last four hundred years, beginning with groups like the Moravians in the 1700s and then contributions of people like William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Cameron Townsend, Donald McGavran, and Ralph Winter.
"God does not bless us so that we can hoard our blessing and bask in our abundance." -- Cassandra W., Northwest Nazarene University student
I like Ralph Winter's easy-to-remember, oversimplified 400-year eras of missions history. Here's how he broke down the history of world evangelism over the last 2,000 years:
Researcher David Barrett also divided that same period into five periods or eras of global outreach. Approaching it from a statistical point of view, his epochs of missions history are a little different from those of Ralph Winter (and slightly harder to remember because the periods are not all the same length):
from "Five Statistical Eras of Global Mission" by David Barrett, published in Missiology, January 1984.
A small prayer meeting in 1806 involving a few college students marked the beginning of the organized American Protestant foreign missionary movement. Though only about five people were present, one result was the involvement of American Christ-followers in world evangelism. The prayer gathering has become known as "the haystack prayer meeting."
Zinzendorf's World Outreach PrayerGerman Count von Zinzendorf pushed the Moravians into becoming a major world missions force in the 1700s. John Wesley translated some of Zinzendorf's written prayers from German into English. Here is one reflecting a concern for world evangelism:"My dearest Savior! We beg of you this same blessed look, this same irresistible look, which you always fix on the souls who like to look upon you, who like to receive you, who are ready to share your wounds, and who are even prepared to die for you. "May all souls on earth, high and low, rich and poor, yearn for your look. And let us on our part testify amongst those we meet to your sacrificial love, that the number of those who succumb to your look may grow and grow. Indeed, we promise that we shall not rest until we are able to look upon you and say: 'Lord, we have filled every place in heaven by bringing every soul on earth under the bright light of your love.'" |
| Writing Standards Most courses at SNU contain a writing component. I expect students to produce written work that is focused, well-developed, organized, and relatively free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. Papers falling short of this standard may not be graded. They may be returned to students for revision and resubmission. See my writing checklist. |
—Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
Tempted to cheat on some schoolwork?
Before you do, read: