Turning Points in the Expansion of Christianity: From Pentecost to the Present - Paperback

by Alice T. Ott (Author)

This readable survey on the history of missions tells the story of pivotal turning points in the expansion of Christianity, enabling readers to grasp the big picture of missional trends and critical developments. Alice Ott examines twelve key points in the growth of Christianity across the globe from the Jerusalem Council to Lausanne '74, an approach that draws on her many years of classroom teaching. Each chapter begins with a close-up view of a particularly compelling and paradigmatic episode in Christian history before panning out for a broader historical outlook. The book draws deeply on primary sources and covers some topics not addressed in similar volumes, such as the role of British abolitionism on mission to Africa and the relationship between imperialism and mission. It demonstrates that the expansion of Christianity was not just a Western-driven phenomenon; rather, the gospel spread worldwide through the efforts of both Western and non-Western missionaries and through the crucial ministry of indigenous lay Christians, evangelists, and preachers.

This fascinating account of worldwide Christianity is suitable not only for the classroom but also for churches, workshops, and other seminars.

Back Jacket

Explore Twelve Key Points in the Growth of Christianity

Alice Ott tells the story of pivotal turning points in the expansion of Christianity, helping readers grasp the big picture of missional trends and critical developments.

"Because Alice Ott's new history takes seriously the essentially missionary character of Christianity (in the past as well as the present), it makes possible a truer, fuller, and more comprehensive understanding of the faith itself. Creative discussion of mission history in this well-researched and clearly written book make it an ideal resource for school, church, and personal instruction."
--Mark Noll, author of The New Shape of Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith

"This is a fantastic book. Using the turning points method of historian Mark Noll, Ott tells the story of the spread of the gospel since the apostolic age by zooming in on kairos moments in the history of Christian witness across cultural, linguistic, and ethnic frontiers. I recommend her work wholeheartedly as a textbook in what used to be called history of missions classes in colleges and seminaries."
--Douglas A. Sweeney, Beeson Divinity School

"How and why did Christianity spread across the globe? Ott answers this question with scholarly insight and a storyteller's knack for illuminating crucial events. She challenges mission histories that have focused on pioneering white men, and she shows a cosmopolitan endeavor to explain the gospel afresh in new contexts. This book introduces a fascinating history that thoughtful Christians will want to ponder as they engage in the world today."
--Emma Wild-Wood, Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh; coeditor of Studies in World Christianity

"Using Mark Noll's famous turning points framework, Ott provides a much-needed big-picture perspective on the historic expansion of the global Christian church. With particular attention given to non-Western mission movements and pre-Protestant Reformation activity, she shows that Christianity has truly been a global faith."
--Edward L. Smither, College of Intercultural Studies, Columbia International University

Author Biography

Alice T. Ott (PhD Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is affiliate professor of the history of mission and world Christianity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. She previously served as a missionary in Germany for 21 years with ReachGlobal.