Story of the Church

Course Summary

This unit provides an introduction to the Church’s history, including the most significant and influential people, movements and events of the last 1900 years. It draws from the Church’s past successes and failures, as well as historical perspectives different from many of ours today, so that students can be better equipped in their own ministries. Key topics include Greco-Roman Christianity, both before and after Constantine; core theological issues for the early Church; medieval Christianity’s theology, spirituality, and political influences; the magisterial, radical and Catholic reformations of the early-modern period; Christianity’s interactions with western modernity, including the Great Awakening, the missionary movement, and ecumenical endeavours; and the history of non-western Christianity, such as in Asian or African contexts.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit students will be able to:

  1. Explain the key events, movements, and people within the broad history of the Church, with regard to their significance to the student’s own context.
  2. Discuss the themes, concepts and doctrines found in historical Christian literature from various contexts, and how these inform the student’s discipleship, both personally and in community.
  3. Examine one or two key events, movements or people from the Church’s history, with reference to relevant primary documents and historical scholarship.

Course Content

  1. Introduction to Church History
  2. Early Christianity Before Constantine
  3. Early Christianity After Constantine
  4. Medieval Christianity — Theology and Spirituality
  5. Medieval Christianity — Politics and Power
  6. The Magisterial and Radical Reformations
  7. The Catholic Reformation
  8. Christianity and Western Modernity
  9. The Missionary Movement
  10. Holiness, Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements
  11. Christianity in Global Perspective
  12. Ecumenism and the Global Church Today