Week 1: Introduction

Discussion 1: Why Study Church History?

- You learn your roots, where your beliefs and actions come from
- You see the hand of God in history
- You realize you're just a small part of something much bigger God has been doing through history
- You get a wider perspective of faith and an appreciation of other viewpoints
- You see the reality of the good impact the church has made in the world, instead of believing lies that
Christians only bring wars, hatred, bigotry, etc.
Discussion 2: Very Brief Overview of Church History
- Book of Acts (0-62)
o Geographical Focus: Jerusalem - Israel - Nearby nations
o 33 AD - Jesus is crucified, Pentecost launches the church
o The church is young, strong, vibrant, and expanding, and God is constantly doing miracles
o The disciples and followers carry Christianity into Europe and even Asia and Africa
o Churches are largely based in urban areas, with a mix of Jewish and Christian, rich and poor
o Churches meet mostly in homes and other public gathering places
o Though Christians are persecuted, they are bold and the faith expands
o 62 AD - The book of Acts is completed around this time
o Names: Peter, John, Paul, Barnabas, Luke, Timothy, Apollo, Priscilla, Aquilla, Silas
- Church Fathers (62-312)
o Geographical Focus: Middle East and Asia Minor
o As Christianity spreads, the church changes and improves society
Christian ideas of equality, forgiveness, love, justice, honesty (vs. hypocrisy), and
mercy win
Christians change the world's views on abortion, infanticide, homosexuality, marriage,
women's rights, slavery, prostitution, violence, etc.
Christians build schools, hospitals, orphanages, etc
o Some of our greatest theologians and creeds come from this era
Doctrines of the trinity, the dual nature of Jesus, etc. were established
Many heresies also arose and were combatted
o Desert Fathers - men like Antony of Egypt leave the world and seek God in the deserts, thus
beginning a style of monasticism that would last for centuries
o Persecution, but continued growth and expansion
o Names: Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of
Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Athanasius
- Christendom (312-1054)
o Geographical Focus: Europe
o 312 AD - Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity
Large-scale persecution in the Roman Empire ends
Many improvements to the morality in Roman Empire
Christians viewed this as the victory of the Kingdom of God
The church slowly becomes less passionate about evangelism and more comfortable
and, eventually, worldly
o Persecution ends, but so does the fire, in many ways
o A number of church councils to establish orthodox doctrine: Nicea (325, 787), Constantinople
(381, 553, 680), Carthage (418), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451)
o Names: Eusebius, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome,
Augustine, Benedict of Nursia, St. John of Damascus, Cyril, Anselm of Canterbury
- Middle Ages (1054-1517)
o Geographical Focus: Europe
o 1054 AD - The Great Schism splits East and West into Orthodoxy and Catholicism
o Though pockets of real Christians exist, Christianity has come to mean little more than being

a European for most people. Everyone is baptized as a baby and considers themselves
Christian by birth.
o This is the age of the Crusades, with Christians marching to battle Muslims in the Holy Land,
sometimes in defense and sometimes in offense.
1453 - Muslims take Constantinople, Eastern Christianity loses its political power
o The church becomes more and more worldly, holding more and more political and economic
power, with leaders (especially Popes in the West) increasingly immoral and corrupt.
o Hints of a Coming Reformation:
Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and others preach a true Gospel, but they're
persecuted by the increasingly powerful and worldly Catholic Church
Erasmus of Rotterdam calls for reformation of the abuses of the Catholic Church
1439 - Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press, creating a way for new ideas to
spread quickly, leading to the Reformation and the Renaissance in the West
o Names: Peter Abelard, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Peter Waldo,
John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Erasmus of Rotterdam
The Reformation (1517-c. 1700)
o Geographical Focus: Western Europe
o 1517 - Martin Luther publishes his "95 Theses," asking for a discussion about perceived
problems in the church
With the newly-invented printing press, Martin Luther's ideas created an international
scandal, as more and more voices arose demanding reformation and change
The voices calling for change are known collectively as the Protestants
o Reformers are heavily persecuted by the Catholic Church
o Anabaptists (who only baptized adult Believers) persecuted by both Reformers and Catholics
o Wars are fought over religion (Protestant vs. Catholic)
o In the secular world, it's the Age of Discovery as explorers travel throughout the world
o Though it's messy, revival and reformation have come to Europe, a restoration of real faith as
opposed to religious obligation
o Names: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Phillip Melanchthon, John Knox,
William Tyndale, King Henry VII, Conrad Grebel, Copernicus, George Fox, Huguenots
Awakenings and Revivals (c. 1700-1901)
o Geographical Focus: England and America
o In the midst of discontent and revolutions, God continues to increase His love in the world
In England, God uses John and Charles Wesley to bring revival and establish the
Methodist Church... George Muller cares for more than 10,000 orphans... William
Booth and the Salvation Army reach thousands throughout the world
Many Christians come to the American colonies for freedom to worship as they
choose, and God brings a number of revivals
First Great Awakening (1730-1743) - Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield,
David Brainerd
Second Great Awakening (1800-1840) - Charles Finney
Third Great Awakening (1850-1900) - DL Moody
Missionaries take the Gospel to the far corners of the world: David Livingstone
(Africa), Hudson Taylor (China), Adoniram Judson (Myanmar), William Carey
(India), Jonathan Goforth (China)
o Toward the end of the 1800s, there is an increasing stirring throughout the world, a hungering
for revival
o Names: Nikolas Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf, John and Charles Wesley, Jonathan Edwards,
George Whitefield, David Brainerd, Charles Finney, DL Moody, David Livingstone, Hudson
Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, George Muller, William and Catherine Booth
Pentecostal Movement (1901-Present Day)
o Geographical Focus: America and, later, the Third World
o 1901: "first" modern record of tongues in Topeka, Kansas (USA)
o 1904: Welsh Revival in Wales, UK
o 1906: Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California (USA) spreads Pentecostalism

worldwide
Discussion 3: Scope of the Pentecostal Movement
- Movement began in Kansas in 1901 with a small group of Bible school students
- Today, there are over 520 million Pentecostals worldwide
- Second largest Christian denomination in world (under Catholics)
- 147 million Africans are Pentecostal - 70% of Kenyans, 60% of Nigerians, 30% of S. Africans
- 138 million Asians are Pentecostal (plus more underground)
- 30% of Latin Americans are Pentecostal
- Most of the world's largest churches are Pentecostal
o Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea (253,000 weekly attendance)
o Jotabeche Methodist P. Church, Santiago, Chile (150,000)
o Calvary Temple, Hyderabad, India. (120,000)
o Deeper Life Bible Church, Lagos, Nigeria (120,000)
o Elim Church, San Salvador, El Salvador (117,000)
o Nambu Full Gospel, Seoul, Korea (110,000)
o AOG Grace and Truth, Kyanggi-do, Korea (105,000)
o Vision de Futuro, Santa Fe, Argentina (70,000)
o Ondas del Luz, Buenos Aires, Argentina (70,000)
o Winners Chapel, Ota, Nigeria (50,000)
o Soong Eui Methodist, Inchon, Korea (47,000)
o Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas (45,000)
- Pentecostal Christians are the fourth-largest denomination in Romania (324,462 members)
o Orthodox - Catholic - Reformed - Pentecostal (1.6%) - Baptist (150,000, 0.8%)