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Early church AD 1-500, Part 1

[pages 4–5].

Christian imagery from the earliest centuries of the church reveals that Christ’s early followers took his teachings to heart. Neither political persecution, nor the disparity between diverse cultures, nor even the tension of doctrinal disputes could limit the spread of Christianity from its very beginning. Indeed, by 52, the apostle Thomas had already reached western India with the good news of Jesus. When he was martyred about 20 years later, the very culture that killed him would celebrate the site of his grave, adorned by a tombstone (middle, 4th c.) with a uniquely Indian rendering of the Hebrew saint. Such cross-cultural likenesses are a hallmark of Christian depictions, from the clean-shaven, Apollo-esque Good Shepherd crowning a Roman catacomb fresco (left, 3rd c.), to a 15th-c. Ethiopian illumination of Saint Mark (right), with pen and bookmaking tools in hand. The early church was missional, flexible, often underground, and prioritized above all maintaining a historical connection with Jesus.

[pages 6–7]

By the end of the 1st century, all of Christ’s apostles had died—most were martyred. While no early likenesses of the apostles exist, Christians would portray their deaths for the next two millennia. A medieval manuscript ( right , 879–883, Byzantine) features a compilation of apostolic martyrdoms. Below (left), a Russian church’s 12th-c. fresco depicts Paul —considered an apostle because of his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus—moments before his own beheading at the hands of the Roman emperor. Peter considered himself unworthy to die the same way that Jesus did; Masaccio’s painting of Peter’s upside-down crucifixion ( middle , 1426, Pisa) includes a unique Renaissance experiment with realism in religious painting. The halo around Peter’s head is foreshortened, submitted to the physical principles of perspective. The depictions of other apostolic martyrdoms here feature halos that are wholly spiritual, slid behind saintly heads and backgrounds. Clearly, Masaccio is thinking of the halo, and perhaps Peter’s sainthood, not as intangible but as physical.

[pages 8–9]

In 70 Roman general Titus crushed the First Jewish Revolt. After seizing Jerusalem from the revolutionary government, Titus looted and burned the temple to symbolize the rebellion’s failure, ending the final period of Jewish temple worship. Eleven years later Domitian erected the Arch of Titus ( left , 81, Rome) to commemorate Roman victory over this provincial coup. The interior walls, which are still standing today, feature reliefs of Titus marching victoriously home ( middle left ) and the desecration of the temple ( middle right ). It must have been shocking to 1st-c. Jews that all that remained of the liturgical instruments treasured in worship for hundreds of years—such as the golden lampstand first described to Moses for tabernacle use (Exodus 25)—were their depictions on a monument of Roman military propaganda—and that this monument was not even in Jerusalem but in pagan Rome. Writers like Justin Martyr (one of his 4th-c. manuscripts is pictured far right ) saw this desecration as a sign of God’s rejection of Israel, an idea that would fuel Christian anti-Semitism for millennia. The sacking of Jerusalem forced the early church to continue extending the reach of the gospel outside of Jesus’s own homeland.

[pages 10–11]

The Alexamenos Graffito (c. 200, Rome, left ) shows that Christianity endured not only waves of official persecution, but unofficial mockery as well. Discovered on a wall of the Paedagogium, where royal slaves were trained, this image of a man at the foot of a cross bearing a donkey-headed figure is captioned in ancient Greek, “Alexamenos worships god.” Scholars think it likely that this earliest-known visual rendering of a crucifixion was created to caricature the countercultural faith celebrating the ignominious death of Jesus Christ. If slaves like Alexamenos needed courage to endure the ridicule of fellow servants, thinkers like Justin Martyr needed it too. He presented his apologetic treatises defending his faith before the emperor, the Roman senate, Greek and Jewish philosophers, and Roman magistrates (can you spot these events in this 1995 icon of Justin Martyr middle left ?). While thinkers like Irenaeus ( middle right ) also clarified doctrinal orthodoxy at this time, waves of official persecution drove churches in some cities literally underground. Even there, Christian culture flourished through catacomb paintings ( right ).

[pages 12–13]

The frontier town of Europos (named “Dura” in the Roman era for the hardy Roman garrison stationed there) was first settled in 300 BC and remained a major stop on both East-West trade endeavors and Persian travel. Resting on the edge of the Euphrates River in modern-day Syria, it was a cultural crossroads. By the 3rd century AD, it contained Greek temples, mystery cults, a Jewish synagogue, and one of the earliest and best-preserved house churches. With periodic waves of persecution sweeping the Roman world, house churches were central to Christian worship. Wealthy congregants hosted services within their walls and sometimes, as we see in Dura-Europos, even designated rooms exclusively for their congregations.

From the main courtyard of this house, believers filed through a large doorway ( above left ), then descended from one room into a low chamber ( above center ). Here remains the earliest known baptistry , equipped with a font big enough for full immersion. Over it is painted Christ as the Good Shepherd redeeming Adam and Eve ( below center ), and the adjacent walls illustrate the healing of the paralytic ( below left ), Jesus walking on water ( below right ), Mary Magdalene at Christ’s tomb, and Old Testament scenes. Invaders destroyed the city in 256, but excavations by Yale University in the 1920s ( above right ) uncovered a vibrant center of Christian worship employing colorful images of biblical scenes.

[pages 14–15]

A new systematic persecution of Christians erupted in 250 under Roman emperor Decius . To the right of his bust (c. 240) is one of the documents required from individuals to enforce pagan worship: a libellus , or “little story,” submitted to the government. This one certifies that an Egyptian woman and her daughter had made the proper Roman sacrifices and is signed by three witnesses. As illustrated by the man tracing a cross into the ground in the painting A Roman Holiday by Briton Rivière ( b left , 1881), the public deaths of Christians exposed the strength of the underground church even, or especially, in adversity.

Meanwhile, Christian theologians were trailblazing new practices and cementing old ones. Some devout believers like Antony ( below left ) and the desert fathers ( below right ) began early Christian monasticism by leaving the comforts and confusion of life in the world for an exile of spiritual poverty in the wilderness. Theologians such as exegetical scholar Origen , c. 185–254, shown in a 12th-c. illumination ( above left ), helped to formalize the New Testament canon, using the proximity of books’ authors to Christ as the standard for inclusion. By the late 3rd century, the collection of books that believers had been reading and referencing for 150 years was already recognizable as the New Testament ( below middle , late 3rd-c. manuscript of 1–2 Peter).

By Max Pointner

[Christian History originally published this article in Christian History Issue #144 in 2022]

Early church ad 1-500, part 2.

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Past issues by the numbers

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Christian History timeline: 2,000 years of Christian history

Events, people, and movements featured in this issue

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Christians throughout the world and down the centuries testifying to their Savior

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Christian History Magazine #144 - Christian history in images (40th Anniversary Edition)

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Church History: An Introduction to Research Methods and Resources

2017, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae

Related Papers

Reviews in Religion & Theology

Bradford McCall

Edward Seely: How Can Churches Facilitate Education Leading to Maturity in Jesus Christ Worldwide?

This brief essay explains the importance of knowing history, and in particular, church history. It also highlights why this subject should be taught in church youth and adult education ministries.

Zaida Perez

Required Texts: González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1984. Bettenson, Henry. Documents of the Christian Church. 2nd edition Oxford University Press, 1967.

Marta Fonseca

Morwenna Ludlow

This is the first volume of a multi-volume History of the Christian Church, series editor G. R. Evans. [From the author's Preface:] 'This book is an attempt to tell the story of the early Christian Church in a way which is clear and readable, whilst doing justice to the complexity and diversity of Christianity in the first six centuries CE. This is not an easy task. Frequently, histories of this period try to create a simple narrative of development, steering a direct path through the period despite all the awkward obstacles in the way…. Whatever the motives, however, the effect of composing too simplistic a story of the early Church is that it flattens out the contours of what was a very bumpy and winding road. It can have the tendency to suggest that the end result was somehow inevitable and it can thus fail to take seriously other forms and expressions of Christianity which were held by minorities or which did not survive. More insidiously, it can obscure the way in which early Christianity was deeply indebted to its Jewish origins and continued to be influenced by the intellectual and cultural legacy of pagan Greece and Rome long after the Empire was officially Christian. Of course, there are also dangers of trying to avoid too easy a narrative structure. The material can become difficult to understand or interpret. The reader can fail to see any connection between the Church of the past and that of the present. More subtly, the author can be accused – with some justification – of stressing the variety of early Christianity in order to defend a more inclusive and diverse understanding of the Church in the present day. Aware of these difficulties, I have tried in this book to write good history: that is, I have tried to steer a path between the mere accumulation of evidence and the construction of an over-simplified narrative. I have assumed neither that the development of the Church was a purely secular process, nor that it can be explained entirely in theological terms. Finally the book has tried to do justice to the range of Christian beliefs and practices, whilst pointing to the factors which held them together as being distinctively Christian. At root, it does assume that the kaleidoscopic variety of early Christianity can be viewed through a single lens.'

Andrew Lauterbach

Sheryl A Kujawa-Holbrook, EdD, PhD

Review of a book by Derek Cooper Published in Anglican and Episcopal History, 84, 3 (September 2015), 353-354

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Home — Essay Samples — Religion — Church — History of the Church

History of The Church

Categories: Church Middle Ages

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Published: Jan 4, 2019

Words: 985 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Patristic Period

Middle ages.

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Resources for Tough Questions about Church History

Helpful resources and strategies for responding to difficult Church history questions.

Some Church history topics can be difficult to understand and explain. The difficulty comes in part because our history blends human activities with holy actions; for example, it includes the visits of heavenly messengers, the translation of ancient records, the teachings of early Church leaders about plural marriage or race, and other issues that raise questions. Many people, both in and out of the Church, are asking these questions in good faith, and they deserve the best possible answers.

The Church has published numerous resources for answering questions about Church history with accurate information and relevant context. These resources appear in multiple locations under various headings. This guide is designed to help locate the best sources for specific needs. All the resources identified here are on the Church’s website and in the Gospel Library app , 1 and most of them are available in at least 10 languages. 2

As we strive to help friends and family with tough questions, we should first and foremost listen carefully and express love and validation. 3 Listening helps to identify exactly what a friend needs. At that point, we may need to draw on some published resources to help. We should also rely on the guidance of the Holy Ghost and actively seek the peace that comes from the Lord, the Prince of Peace. Lastly, we should always remember that the past was different from today and that we don’t know everything about it. 4

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days

This projected four-volume set tells the international history of the Church from its founding to the 21st century. Saints also features the stories of individual Latter-day Saints who made covenants with God and strove to keep them. Along the way, the volumes also discuss tough topics from Church history in historical context. Topics are highlighted in the main narrative, and additional sources and links are available in the endnotes.

For example, volume 1 includes accounts of the First Vision, the translation of the Book of Mormon and the book of Abraham, and Joseph Smith’s teachings about women and about our mother in heaven. It also describes the introduction of plural marriage, with stories about Joseph Smith’s marriages to six women (Emma Hale, Fanny Alger, Louisa Beaman, Mary Lightner, and Emily and Eliza Partridge). 5 Volume 2 addresses the origins of past priesthood and temple restrictions, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and the public practice (and subsequent ending) of plural marriage in Utah. 6 An accompanying podcast provides additional context and commentary from Church leaders and scholars.

Gospel Topics Essays

This series of essays provides answers to common questions about Church history, with extensive documentation. The essays were drafted by scholars, approved by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and published between 2013 and 2015.

Individual essays address the accounts of the First Vision ; the translation of the Book of Mormon and the translation of the book of Abraham from papyrus scrolls; DNA studies of native peoples and the Book of Mormon; the beginnings , practice , and ending of plural marriage; the origins and end of priesthood and temple restrictions; the Mountain Meadows Massacre ; teachings about women , mother in heaven , and becoming like God ; and the Church’s relationship with Christianity .

Church History Topics

In connection with the multivolume history Saints , scholars in the Church History Department have written nearly 200 short essays to provide additional information and context about people, events, and places from Church history. These include explanations of Joseph Smith’s participation in treasure seeking , Bible translation , Masonry , and the destruction of a newspaper in Nauvoo; divining rods and seer stones ; critics of the Book of Mormon ; forged brass plates from Kinderhook, Illinois; the Danites ; Brigham Young’s succession as Church President ; Indian slavery among the pioneers; antipolygamy actions by the United States government; early experiences with dissenters and other Latter Day Saint movements ; and changes in Word of Wisdom practices .

Gospel Topics

While “Gospel Topics” sounds similar to “Gospel Topics essays,” the two have different origins and are in different locations. The Gospel Topics series consists of hundreds of short pieces describing the Church’s doctrines, principles, and practices. The entries began as part of the reference book True to the Faith (published in 2004) and were later moved online, where they have been expanded and updated. They also include links to the longer Gospel Topics essays.

Among the many short entries are summaries about Book of Mormon geography , Church finances and commercial activities, diversity , LGBTQ issues , same-sex marriage , and helps for answering gospel questions .

Answers to Church History Questions

This series of short videos presents conversations with historians on many of the subjects mentioned above, including translations, plural marriage, pioneers, violence, and the Word of Wisdom.

Revelations in Context

This volume of essays about revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants describes the background of the revelations and identifies connections between them. Among the essays are contextual explanations about seer stones and divining rods ; Joseph Smith’s prophecies about war , Zion , and financing temporal affairs ; how plural marriage began and ended ; the end of priesthood and temple restrictions; and changes in Word of Wisdom practices .

Joseph Smith Papers

The Joseph Smith Papers project seeks to assemble all known Joseph Smith documents, including revelations, translations, histories, and personal records. These materials—which will ultimately be published in more than two dozen printed volumes—are freely available on the project website. The website features a Reference drop-down menu with links to all known accounts of the First Vision , records describing the gold plates and the Book of Mormon translation , documents about the restoration of the priesthood , and materials used in the translation of the book of Abraham . A glossary on the site includes historical meanings of words and links to documents that use them, including translate , seer stone (with photos), laying on of hands , the people (quorum) who first received the endowment , and Danites . The Joseph Smith Papers hosts a podcast on the First Vision that includes an episode about Joseph Smith’s accounts of the vision , as well as a podcast on the priesthood restoration that includes a discussion of race and the priesthood .

The Church History Library serves as the official repository for the Church’s most important historical records. The library hosts an online catalog where millions of records are available digitally. Our archivists, librarians, and historians have published research guides to help with researching numerous topics from Church history. Visitors may submit a question by clicking “Ask Us” in the library’s catalog and website.

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The Mission of the Church

Other essays.

The mission of the church is the task given by God for the people of God to accomplish in the world.

After defining the terminology this essay will explore the nature of the church’s mission in light of the missio Dei and the apostolic pattern in the New Testament and the book of Acts in particular. It will evaluate contemporary broader ideas of mission and conclude with a re-emphasis on the gospel-centered focus of the New Testament pattern.

The mission of the church is the task given by God for the people of God to accomplish in the world. In simplest terms, the mission of the church is the Great Commission—what Philip Ryken calls “a clear, unambiguous statement of [the church’s] mission to the world.” 1 Our task as the gathered body of Christ is to make disciples, by bearing witness to Jesus Christ the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit to glory of God the Father. 2

Defining Our Terms

In talking about the mission of the church, we are not trying to enumerate all the good things Christians can or should do to love their neighbors and to be salt and light in the world. The issue at hand relates to the church as church. What collectively as an organized institution must we be about as God’s people if we are to faithfully accomplish his purposes for us in the world?

If the word “church” is important, so is the word “mission.” While “mission” does not appear in most English Bibles, it is still a biblical word. Eckhard Schnabel— who, with almost 2000 pages on Early Christian Mission and another 500-page work on Paul the Missionary , is probably the world’s leading expert on mission in the New Testament—makes this point forcefully:

The argument that the word mission does not occur in the New Testament is incorrect. The Latin verb mittere corresponds to the Greek verb apostellein , which occurs 136 times in the New Testament (97 times in the Gospels, used both for Jesus having been “sent” by God and for the Twelve being “sent” by Jesus). 3

The apostles, in the broadest sense of the term, were those who had been sent out. This sent-outness is also the first thing we should note relative to the term missionary . It is, after all, the first thing Jesus notes about his mission, that he was sent to proclaim a message of good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). Being “on mission” or engaging in mission work suggests intentionality and movement. 4 Mission, at the very least, involves being sent from one place to somewhere else.

Every Christian—if we are going to be obedient to the Great Commission—must be involved in missions, but not every Christian is a missionary. While it is certainly true that we should all be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have (1Pet. 3:15), and we should all adorn the gospel with our good works (Titus 2:1), and we should all do our part to make Christ known (1Thess. 1:8; 2Thess. 3:1), we should reserve the term “missionary” for those who are intentionally sent out from one place to another. Strictly speaking, the church is not sent out but sends out workers from her midst. Our fundamental identity as church ( ekklesia ) is not as those who are sent into the world with a mission, but as those who are called out from darkness into his marvelous light (1Pet. 2:9). 5

Jesus’s Mission and Ours

Before the sixteenth century, “mission” was primarily a word used in connection with the Trinity. The “sending” theologians talked about was the sending of the Son by the Father, and the sending of the Holy Spirit by the Father and the Son. This is a crucial point. We will not rightly understand the mission of the church without the conviction that “the sending of Jesus by the Father is still the essential mission .” 6

And what was the nature of Jesus’s ministry? Jesus ministered to bodies as well as souls, but within this holistic ministry, he made preaching his priority. Preaching is why he came out in public ministry and why he moved from town to town (Mark 1:38-39). The purpose of his Spirit-anointed ministry was to proclaim good news to the poor (Luke 4:18-19). He came to call sinners to repentance and faith (Mark 1:15; 2:17). Although Jesus frequently attended to the physical needs of those around him, there is not a single example of Jesus going into a town with the purpose of healing or casting out demons. The Son of Man never ventured out on a healing or exorcism tour. His stated purpose was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Of course, Jesus’ mission must not be reduced to verbal proclamation. Unique to his identity as the divine Messiah, Jesus’s mission was vicariously to die for the sins of his people (Matt. 1:21; Mark 10:45). Concomitant with this purpose, Jesus’s public ministry aimed at the eternal life that could come to the sinner only through faith in Christ (John 3:16-17; 14:6; 20:21). We see this in Mark’s Gospel, for example, where the entire narrative builds toward the centurion’s confession in Mark 15:37 where, in fulfillment of the book’s opening sentence (Mark 1:1), the Roman soldier confesses, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Leading people to this Spirit-given conviction is the purpose of Mark’s gospel and of Jesus’s ministry. The Messiah ministered to bodies as well as souls and made preaching his priority so that those with ears to hear might see his true identity and follow him in faith.

It’s no wonder, then, that all four Gospels (plus Acts) include some version of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 13:10; 14:9; Luke 24:44-49; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). The mission given to the bumbling band of disciples was not one of cultural transformation—though that would often come as a result of their message—but a mission of gospel proclamation. To be sure, God’s cosmic mission is bigger than the Great Commission, but it is telling that while the church is not commanded to participate with God in the renewal of all things—which would, presumably, include not only re-creation but also fiery judgment—we are often told to bear witness to the one will do all these things. In short, while the disciples were never told to be avatars of Christ, it is everywhere stated, either explicitly or implicitly, that they were to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).

A Mission Too Small?

No Christian disagrees with the importance of Jesus’ final instructions to the disciples, but many missiological scholars and practitioners have disagreed with the central or controlling importance of the Great Commission. John Stott, for example, in arguing for social action as an equal partner of evangelism suggested that “we give the Great Commission too prominent a place in our Christian thinking.” 7 Similarly, Lesslie Newbigin concluded that the “Christian mission is thus to act out in the whole life of the whole world the confession that Jesus is Lord.” 8 The mission of the church, in other words, cannot be reduced to our traditional understanding of missions.

In the past fifty years, we have seen, to quote the title of one seminal book, “paradigm shifts in theology of mission.” 9 At the heart of this shift has been a much more expansive view of the mission of the church, one that recasts the identity of the church as missional communities “called and sent to represent the reign of God” or as “communities of common people doing uncommon deeds.” 10 No longer is the role of the church defined mainly as an ambassador or a witness. Instead, we are collaborators with God in the missio Dei (mission of God), co-operators in the redemption and renewal of all things. As Christopher Wright puts it, “Fundamentally, our mission (if it is biblically informed and validated) means our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation.” 11 The church’s task in the world is to partner with God as he establishes shalom and brings his reign and rule to bear on the peoples and places of the earth.

The Mission of the Church in Acts

As attractive as this newer model may seem, there are a number of problems with the missio Dei paradigm for the mission of the church. It undervalues the Great Commission, underemphasizes what is central in the mission of the Son, and overextends our role in God’s cosmic mission on earth.

Besides all this, the new model has a hard time accounting for the pattern of mission in the earliest days of the church. Acts is the inspired history of the mission of the church. This second volume from Luke describes what those commissioned at the end of the first volume were sent out to do (Luke 24:47-48). If Luke’s Gospel was the book of everything Jesus began to do and teach (1:1), then Acts must be the record of all that Jesus continues to do and teach.

We could look at almost any chapter in Acts to gain insight into the mission of the church, but Acts 14 is especially instructive, verses 21-23 in particular. At the beginning of Acts 13, the church at Antioch, prompted by the Holy Spirit, set apart Paul and Barnabas “for the work to which I have called them” (v. 2). This isn’t the first time the gospel is going to be preached to unbelievers in Acts, neither is it the first gospel work Paul and Barnabas will do. But it is the first time we see a church intentionally sending out Christian workers with a mission to another location.

Paul and Barnabas traveled to Cyprus, then to Pisidian Antioch, then to Iconium, then to Lystra, then to Derbe, and from there back through Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch, and then to Perga, and back to Antioch in Syria. The final section in Acts 14 is not only a good summary of Paul’s missionary work, it is the sort of information Paul would have shared with the church in Antioch when he returned (v. 27). These verses are like the PowerPoint presentation Paul and Barnabas shared with their sending church. “This is how we saw God at work. Here’s where we went and what we did.” In other words, if any verses are going to give us a succinct description of what mission was about in the early church, it’s verses like these at the end of Acts 14.

Acts 14:21-23 presents us with the three-legged stool of the church’s mission. Through the missionary work of the Apostle Paul, the early church aimed for:

New converts: “when they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples” (v. 21)
New communities: “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church” (v. 23)
Nurtured churches: “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith” (v. 22).

If the apostles are meant to be the church’s model for mission, then we should expect our missionaries to be engaged in these activities and pray for them to that end. The goal of mission work is to win new converts, establish these young disciples in the faith, and incorporate them into a local church. 12

Schnabel’s definition of missionary work sounds the same note:

“Missionaries communicate the news of Jesus the Messiah and Savior to people who have not heard or accepted this news.”
“Missionaries communicate a new way of life that replaces, at least partially, the social norms and the behavioral patterns of the society in which the new believers have been converted.”
“Missionaries integrate the new believers into a new community.” 13

Evangelism, discipleship, church planting—that’s what the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to do, and these should be the goals of all mission work. Missionaries may aim at one of these components more than the other two, but all three should be present in the church’s overall mission strategy.

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

As is true with almost every Christian doctrine, there are ditches on either side of the road when trying to define the mission of the church. On the one hand, we want to avoid the danger of making our mission too small. Some well-meaning Christians act like conversion is the only thing that counts. They put all their efforts into getting to the field as quickly as possible, speaking to as many people as possible, and then leaving as soon as possible. Mission becomes synonymous with first-time gospel proclamation. Clearly, Paul did not practice blitzkrieg evangelism, nor was he motivated by an impatient hankering for numbers to report back home.

On the other hand, we want to avoid the danger of making our mission too broad. Some well-meaning Christians act like everything counts as mission. They put all their efforts into improving job skills, digging wells, setting up medical centers, establishing great schools, and working for better crop yields—all of which can be wonderful expressions of Christian love, but bear little resemblance to what we see Paul and Barnabas sent out to do on their mission in Acts.

Without denigrating the good work Christians do as salt and light in the world, we must conclude from Acts 14—and from the New Testament more broadly, that the church’s mission is more specific than common people doing uncommon deeds. As Schnabel argues, those demanding a “‘revolution’ in our understanding of mission—away from the traditional missionary focus on winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, concentrating rather on a ‘holistic’ understanding of Jesus’ claims” do so without strong supporting evidence. 14 We see over and over in Paul’s missionary journeys, and again in his letters, that the central work to which he has been called was the verbal proclamation of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Rom. 10:14-17; 15:18; 1Cor. 15:1-2, 11; Col. 1:28). Paul saw his identity as an apostle, as a sent-out one, in terms of being set apart for the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1). That’s why in Acts 14:27 the singular summary of his just-completed mission work is that God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. His goal as a missionary was the conversion of Jews and pagans, the transformation of their hearts and minds, and the incorporation of these new believers into a mature, duly constituted church. What Paul aimed to accomplish as a missionary in the first century is an apt description of the mission of the church for every century.

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Church History

Voices from the past brought to the present

In This Section:

Writing a church history digest, writing a church history paper, sources for historical research, research and writing church history, common problems in church history writing, writing for church history.

Understanding the present requires understanding the past. Church history is thus a critical discipline in every generation. The purpose of church history writing at Westminster is to present a careful and original analysis that explains how a given event, written work, or important individual relates to surrounding historical forces.

Church History courses at Westminster require two kinds of writing: digests and papers.

“Understanding the present requires understanding the past.”

In many ways, digesting for church history is similar to digesting for any other class. One significant difference, however, is that in a church history digest you are usually asked not only to summarize a reading, but to also assess and respond to it.

Digests include summary. When summarizing, avoid stringing together long quotations. Istead, present the essential information in your own words.
Digests include assessment. You might discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and problems of the text; you could also unpack the relationship between the author, the text and their context.
Digests include a response. Answer any of the following questions. How did it make you feel? How would you apply these ideas in your life? Would you recommend this reading? Why and to whom?

Not all elements of the analysis and response usually need to be included. A digest should be ⅔ to ⅘ summary, and ⅓ to ⅕ assessment and response. The assessment and response can be at the end or interwoven throughout.

In order to avoid simply quoting, first read carefully, taking notes or making notes in the margins. See if you can summarize the reading without your notes briefly first, then use your notes or outline to write a more thorough summary. Assess or respond to each point as it comes up, or write your entire assessment/response at the end.

Introduction

In many ways, writing a church history paper is similar to writing for any other class. As in other classes, your paper should be unified with a clear thesis—a statement of the position that you are striving to explain and argue. This thesis is usually the answer to the research question with which you began your paper writing process.

Why Did This Happen?

A historical paper is different from papers in other classes because of the kind of question it answers and because of the sources it uses to answer them. In a historical paper, the thesis sometimes answers the question, What happened? This is especially the case if there is disagreement about what happened. But it will also answer the question, Why did this happen?

What kinds of things answer “why” questions? We can answer “why” questions by examining the forces of history such as economics, socio-political power, and war.
What are good examples of research questions? Good research questions are narrow and yet have broader implications. A good research question must also be something that you can answer by doing research. For example, you cannot ask, “What was Augustine thinking while he wrote book XI of his Confessions?” However, you could ask, “What philosophical movements may have influenced Augustine’s thought in book XI of his Confessions?”
What are good examples of thesis statements? Good thesis statements are narrow and sufficiently supported by the research for the paper.
Where can you find your answers? You can find answers to your research questions in primary and secondary sources.

Writing a paper for church history is, like for all disciplines, an exercise in persuading people. But it is also an exercise in understanding people. Thus, the church history paper is not merely a “report” of what happened but an attempt to explain why an event, written work, person, movement or doctrine took the particular shape it did.

The Forces of History

Your analysis of church history must therefore pay close attention to the various forces that drive history forward. These forces include:

environment
ideology (including, but not limited to, theology)

Although our God is ultimately Lord over these forces, his providential purposes are hidden from us, and so we, as historians, focus upon the study of secondary causes.

Engaging with Sources

In pursuit of this goal, the church history paper should engage directly and deeply with primary sources. But this interaction should happen in dialogue with key secondary sources.

Not only will these sources help to frame the research question (i.e., what question are we trying to answer in our research?), but they will also marshal evidence from the primary sources to either confirm, refute, or nuance the theses of secondary sources.

Historical research involves the investigation of the past through primary and secondary sources. A primary source is any material (text, artifact, etc.) from the past that the historian studies directly. Primary sources thus provide direct evidence for historical investigation.

Secondary sources are writings by historians that summarize, analyze, or interpret information gathered from primary sources. Consulting secondary sources is essential because the insights of professional historians will guide our own thinking.

Primary Sources

As mentioned above, primary sources provide a direct window on the past. Although the study of some primary sources requires specialized skill (knowledge of other languages and cultures, archeological technique, etc.), most primary sources can be studied profitably by non-experts. Because the direct evidence of primary sources is uninterpreted by secondary sources, primary sources “speak for themselves” in a way that secondary sources do not. For this reason they are of primary importance to historical study and are the focus of church history research at Westminster.

Examples of Primary Resources

Primary source material may include published or unpublished writings, personal letters, photographs, artifacts, audio or video recordings, interviews, personal testimony, or other materials that come directly from the past. Examples include:

The Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin
The Collected Writings of J. Gresham Machen
The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
The Minutes of the Pennsylvania Legislature

Secondary Sources

No study of primary sources is complete without a complementary familiarity with the pertinent secondary source material. Secondary sources . . .

summarize the historical background for areas of study that the student does not have the time or expertise to investigate directly through the study of primary sources;
make the student aware of the findings and conclusions of professional historians; and
help determine what historical question the research will strive to answer.

Examples of Secondary Sources

Secondary source material includes any scholarly writing that discusses, analyzes, or interprets the past. The distinguishing mark of secondary sources is that they are not part of the history they discuss.

Examples (corresponding to the primary sources listed above) include:

A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis, edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback
Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America, by D.G. Hart
C.S. Lewis: A Biography, by Roger L. Green and Walter Hooper
History of Proprietary Government in Pennsylvania, by William Robert Shepherd

Preliminary Steps

Establish a schedule.

Because of the volume of primary and secondary material available, you will not be able to read everything pertinent to your topic before you write your paper. It is therefore helpful to give yourself a deadline for finishing your research.

Establishing a date after which you will stop gathering and reading material will allow you ample time to synthesize your research and write the paper.

Clearly Identify a Question or Topic

You will have the least difficulty synthesizing your research into a paper outline if your research is narrowly focused upon a specific historical question.

Here are some suggestions for narrowing your topic:

Choose a person, written work, doctrine, movement, or event to investigate. If you select a general topic initially, allow your research to guide you to a narrower topic. If you proceed in this manner, leave yourself extra time for analyzing your research and clarifying a specific research question.
Avoid choosing a topic that is either too complex or too simple. For example, you will not have time or space to discuss the forces that shaped American Evangelicalism; such a broad topic can only be treated in a lengthy monograph. On the other hand, do not research a question so simple that its answer is a matter of general knowledge, requiring little research or verification.
Choose a topic that interests you. Let your natural inquisitiveness guide your research. You will be much more likely to do your research and writing well if you are enthusiastic about your topic.

Gather Primary and Secondary Material

Once you have clarified your topic, begin gathering your research material. If you will be studying a particular author, read as much of his or her writing as possible, focusing on material relevant to your topic.

Because you will be seeking to understand the world in which your author wrote (or in which your event took place), you should also seek out primary sources that tell you something about that world directly.

For example, if you are studying J. Gresham Machen’s doctrine of the church, you would . . .

investigate his writings about the church,
investigate the writings of thinkers with whom he disagreed, and
consult biographical material to see if any of his experiences might have shaped his thinking.

Because you will inevitably be unable to answer every question by appealing to primary sources, gather secondary sources that discuss your topic. This material will supplement your study of the primary sources by familiarizing you with various scholarly interpretations of your topic.

The easiest way to begin this secondary research is to search for your topic in the catalog of Westminster’s Montgomery Library. Access to an extensive database of journal articles is available to Westminster students through the library website.

Read Selectively

Not every piece of research you gather will be useful to you. Carefully study sources that deal directly with your topic, but skim sources that are less directly related for useful information. When reading a book, utilize the table of contents and index to locate the specific information you need.

Critically Analyze your Sources

Ask these questions of the material you are reading:

What appear to be the influences bearing upon your sources?
What fundamental assumptions and commitments shape the writer’s statements?
In what environment was a given work written, and how is that work shaped by and addressed to that environment?
What is the relationship between theology and the social environment for your topic?
What factors account for the particular emphases and omissions of theological works?
In what ways are the historical personalities you are studying conscious or unconscious of influences upon them?

Questions such as these will prompt your critical thinking and lead to a well-researched thesis.

Narrowing your Topic

Many students struggle to clarify the right topic for their paper. Sometimes a thesis does not readily present itself from your research. Usually, however, sustained and focused investigation of a single topic will turn up enough material for you to formulate a basic thesis. Successful paper topics often concern the beliefs of a particular person or the causes of an important event. Sample paper topics include:

Charles Hodge’s Doctrine of Justification
J. Gresham Machen’s Response to Modern Social Crises
Social and Ideological Forces Shaping the Black Theology of James Cone
Political Ideology and English Confessions: A Comparative Study

Maintaining Analytical Distance

When you are researching a topic that is of personal interest, you may find your personal opinions affecting how you read a particular source. While it is impossible to avoid this subjectivity entirely, you should seek to be self-conscious and self-critical as you approach research. Do not to allow your own bias to prevent you from hearing and considering the positions of your sources. In order to maintain a proper analytical distance between you, the historian, and your sources, distinguish the separate tasks of investigating sources and analyzing those sources. Only after you have suspended judgment long enough to understand (i.e., investigate) your research should you make historical judgments (i.e., analyze). Remember too that the purpose of a church history paper is not to make a moral or theological judgment of your subject (e.g., Machen was right) but to analyze the historical forces that were operative in shaping what took place (e.g., this is why Machen did what he did).

Avoiding Anachronistic Analysis

All good historical study involves an act of imagination, by which the historian travels into a time and place different from his own. Therefore, the historian must guard against allowing the assumptions of his own time and culture to hinder understanding the past on its own terms. When researching and writing your paper, the temptation is to expect past people and institutions to share your own worldview assumptions, leading to shallow analysis and unfair judgments. On the other hand, awareness of the differences between your worldview assumptions and those of the time, place, and persons you are studying will make your analysis fair and insightful.

Capturing Historical Complexity

It is sometimes tempting, when studying the influences upon a person or event, to single out one historical factor as the sole or primary cause of a historical phenomenon. But careful historical inquiry ordinarily finds that multiple forces converge to cause historical phenomena, rendering single-cause explanations short-sighted and simplistic. Your analysis should therefore avoid the reductionistic tendency to formulate at a thesis such as, “The basic cause of the Protestant Reformation was….” Only when you give attention to the complexity of the historical process will your analysis be cogent and compelling.

Resources For

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Books of the Month

Our monthly lists of featured books in the history of Christianity.

The American Society of Church History is a community of scholars, dedicated to studying the history of Christianity in relation to broader culture, across all time periods, locations, and cultural contexts.

Who Should Join the ASCH?

Our members represent every facet of scholarship. We welcome practitioners of all backgrounds, whether you are a professional academic, graduate student, seminarian, clergyperson, primary or secondary school teacher, or an independent scholar.

The ASCH seeks to foster a diverse and inventive community by hosting conferences, publishing Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, maintaining an active digital community, and sponsoring awards for excellence in scholarship.

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“Gospel Topics Essays,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016)

“Gospel Topics Essays,” Gospel Topics Essays

Gospel Topics Essays

In the early 1830s, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was less than three years old, the Lord invited members of the Church to seek wisdom by study and by the exercise of faith:

“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” ( D&C 88:118 ).

This is more than a simple exhortation to learn about the gospel. It is an invitation from the Lord to recognize that not all sources of knowledge are equally reliable. Seeking “out of the best books” does not mean seeking only one set of opinions, but it does require us to distinguish between reliable sources and unreliable sources.

Recognizing that today so much information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be obtained from questionable and often inaccurate sources, officials of the Church began in 2013 to publish straightforward, in-depth essays on a number of topics. The purpose of these essays, which have been approved by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has been to gather accurate information from many different sources and publications and place it in the Gospel Topics section of ChurchofJesusChrist.org, where the material can more easily be accessed and studied by Church members and other interested parties.

The Church places great emphasis on knowledge and on the importance of being well informed about Church history, doctrine, and practices. Ongoing historical research, revisions of the Church’s curriculum, and the use of new technologies allowing a more systematic and thorough study of scriptures have all been pursued by the Church to that end. We again encourage members to study the Gospel Topics essays cited in the links below as they “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

228 Church Topics & Examples

🏆 best church topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good topics for an essay about church activities, 📃 simple & easy church history thesis topics, 📌 most interesting church topics to write about, 🎓 good research topics about church, ✍️ church essay topics for college, ❓ questions about church.

The Role of the Church in the Life of the Middle Ages The church was thus an inseparable part of the medieval times, and anyone researching the history of the middle ages, must come across the role played by the church during this time.
The Catholic Church and the Black Death in the 14th Century Therefore, the essence of this research paper is to investigate the role of Catholic Church during the Black Death, specifically paying attention to the steps the church used to prevent the disease, the Flagellants and […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
Paul’s Life and Significance for the Church Today These documents also explained the necessity of rituals now considered the basic ones for Christianity and contributed to the rise of the Church to the institution playing the fundamental role in the modern world.
Should Churches Be Taxed? The reason for this is that, as practice indicates, the activities of just about any Church are being ultimately concerned with making it possible for the affiliated clergymen to ensure the never-ending flow of monetary […]
Church as a Social Institution The social correlation that has greatly emerged among aged people in modern society has been greatly contributed by the church which has created a strong belief that the single believers who have developed the attitude […]
Church Visit Reflection Thus the outward mission of the church, its serve to the kingdom, is to announce the good news, inviting individuals to receive it and to become members of the body of Christ.
The Foundation of Christian Church The early church was founded in Roman Judea, with the teachings based on Jesus Christ’s teachings. However, the Jewish authorities’ prosecution of Jesus’ followers led to the formation of the first multiethnic church in Antioch.
Paper Church Designed by Shigeru Ban The purpose of this paper is to analyze the significance of Ban’s designs with the help of Paper Church as an example.
Women in Pre-Vatican II Church First, prior to discussing the place of women in the Pre-Vatican II Church, it is necessary to define the notion of the Church itself.
Catholic Church View on Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery Therefore, the authors had a negative stance on cosmetic surgery performed on women, stating that it was a betrayal of the “truth of the feminine self” and a contribution to the exploitation of the female […]
Church Going The poem is an exposition of the erosion of the old beliefs of the religious institution delimited by the church. The narrator is contemptuous of the habit of visiting churches and derides the various instruments […]
Baptist, Roman Catholic Church, and Episcopal Church: Comparison It evolved immediately after the American Revolution after a forced break from the Church of England due to the penalty of disloyalty as the clergy of the Church of England were obliged to swear their […]
The Role of the Church in Ireland: Past and Present For this reason, the key aim of the paper is to answer the following research question: Speaking about the unusual position of the Church in Ireland, it is critical to mention that unlike the population […]
Separation of Church and State The accomodationist’s position is the first one and maintains that the government has a moral responsibility to enact policies that recognize the role of religion in the society.
The Corruption of the Catholic Church in Chaucer’s Works Using the central theme of religious hypocrisy, Chaucer successfully used the Pardoner, the Friar, and the Summoner characters to expose the church representatives’ corruption and evil practices.
Heretics and Early Christian Church Fathers To the early church fathers any person who denied the deity of Christ, same as whoever identified Jesus and the Father as being the same person was considered heretic.
Seventh Day Adventist Church The denomination began in the middle of the 19th century in the United States of America because of the Millerite movement.
The Concept of the Church’s Heresies This essay focuses on the Gnosticism heresy, including its teachings, effects on the early church, how the church dealt with the heresy and how it relates to the current church.
Leadership Challenges in the Church The essence of a proper delegation is to plan the task and organize the work process to achieve the goals as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Children’s Ministry in Churches Challenges The first suggestion refers to the idea that, for the ministers to be able to set children on the proper track of affiliating themselves with God, they will have to teach them how to address […]
The Church’s Role During the Feudal Era Such land relations broadly defined the character of the political regime and the essence of the state and law. At that time, religion and the church served to protect the interests of the upper class.
Religion Classification: Church, Sect and Cults In most parts of the world, Christianity is the mainstream spiritual institution and therefore small spiritual units developing in a given place will either be referred to as sects or cults.
History of Catholic Church Catholic religion dominated the lives of the medieval people between the 5th and the 15th century. It was not easy to dislodge Christianity from the lives and minds of the medieval men and women, as […]
The Christian Church’s Organizational Chart Specifically, with the emphasis on Servant Leadership and the resulting promotion of the freedom of choice for the key stakeholders, the Redeemed Christian Church of God introduces opportunities for a situational approach and options for […]
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Spirituality of Church Members Through the qualitative data methodology, the researcher predicts that the findings will establish that Church members maintained and increased their spirituality despite the adverse effects and experiences of the pandemic and lack of physical attendance […]
The Concept of Kind in Church History: Analyzing Quotes From a Spiritual and Philosophical Perspective The usage of the concept of ‘kind’ can be traced to the early church period. The concept of ‘kind’ is evident in both of the quotes.
One Sacred Effort: Southern Baptist Church The Baptists believe in the infallibility and the sacredness of scripture as the sole reservoir of authority. Baptists live by the teachings of the New Testament with respect to baptism and the work of the […]
Administration of a Local Church Beginning with the collection of information about the current state of the organization, the sequence continues with the gathering of data and a discussion in which all members of the organization continue with the design […]
The New Global Mission: Escobar’s Global Church Conception While exploring the new realities of the globalized community and assessing the changing patterns in carrying global mission, which is both secular and sacred, Escobar introduces a new theological framework of biblical mission, revisiting the […]
Indulgences in the Catholic Church The Pope is the highest level of clergy in the Catholic Church, with explicit respect and authority granted by the Christian ecclesiological doctrine.
A Blog Post for the Church Website In fact, the Apostle identifies the Jewish people as the dominant part of the entire population of Jerusalem and the main church workers.
Analysis of Church Strategic Plan The project is focused on teaching adults the basics of the Word of God, attracting new parishioners, glorifying the Church and its mission.
Trinity Church: An Influential Architectural Design Up to date, the Trinity Church is known as one of the highly significant and influential buildings in the history of American architecture.
Church’s Attitude to Stendhal’s “The Red and The Black” One of the masterpieces that caused political and public outcry was the novel The Red and the Black written by Stendhal, the famous French novelist of the 19th century.
Eastern Orthodox Church and Its History Thus, the investigation of the church history is treated as tracing the presence of a hand of God everywhere in men’s life ways. The research of church history is necessary as it provides the comprehension […]
The Acts of Corruption Committed by the Church The purpose of this paper is to list some of the prevalent acts of corruption committed by the church and its followers and to understand the reasons behind them.
Church-Sect Theory The typologies of religion are usually referred to as ideal types meaning that they are mere examples of other categories Based on the church-sect theory, the church is described as a religious organization that is […]
The Nature and Mission of the Church in the Twenty-First Century The Church is the mystery as the reflection of God’s will in the world, and the Church is the main sacrament because the presence of God in the world is associated with the nature of […]
The Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy: Contextual Analysis Second, the paper provides a formal analysis of the Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy without value judgment to enable the reader to understand the object of the inquiry.
The Church as a Business Organization In this respect, the Catholic business model helps to fulfill the mission of the church to God and the faithful across the world.
Tax Exemption of Churches From Tax Payments It is unfair for the government to exempt religious groups from paying taxes because this marginalizes some other groups, including LGBTQ and atheists.
The History of the Congregational Christian Church The Congregational Christian Church is one of the five historical streams of the United Church of Christ. However, I acknowledge my weaknesses and imperfections that I will work on in order to be able to […]
The Afro-Christian Connection and United Church of Christ Afro-Christian congregations maintained their fundamental nature from the start of Afro-Christian church activities, directly following the Civil War, until the creation of the United Church of Christ.
Authority in the United Church of Christ In addition, the covenant aspect in the structure of the church eliminates the hierarchy component, emphasizing the unity and freedom of religious expression in the combination of European and American roots of the church.
STEEPLE Environmental Scan of the Trends Driving the Church Congregants fear that people could ask them tough questions because of the preparedness of the world to criticize Christians due to the exposure to the media.
Christian Church: The Action Research The penultimate stage is to implement the action plan and eliminate the identified problems. In conclusion, Action Research is a positive tool that allows you to work with the effectiveness of churches.
“How the Local Churches Go Global” Review Local churches form the basis of missions and should cooperate to fulfill the biblical obligation of spreading the gospel. God gives instructions to churches on how to coordinate local and global missions in the Bible.
The United Church of Christ Analysis As discussed in a number of resources about the church, and its own website, the emergence of the church is more of unification and acceptance, emerging as a way to mend the late disagreements of […]
The Parliamentary Reform of the Church of England in the 19th Century England is a fairly good example of the reformation of the foundations of the system of power.thus, the country made the necessary changes not with the help of revolutions and social unrest, but with the […]
The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation The most fundamental change to the power of the Roman Catholic Church came during the era of the Protestant Reformation. Therefore, the latter part of the Middle Ages was marked by a substantial change in […]
What Does Paul Say About the Church? In particular, the analysis of 1 Corinthians 12-13 and Romans 12 reveals that Paul emphasizes the role of love and self-sacrifice and compares the Church to a body, while believers are its essential components.
Women in Church, Politics, and Society The role of women in the church is determined by the role women had in ancient society and is reflected in the Bible.
The Church’s Involvement in Politics According to the Bible The church can teach the leaders of man how to properly carry out their duties in accordance to the Word of God.
Should the Church Baptize Babies of Commited Christian Parents? One of the most common is the idea of the unity of the believers that surpass any genetic or race accessory.
The Survival and Development of Christian Church For the first five hundred years, the Church was almost entirely in the territory of the Roman Empire, which was a powerful state with many tools for punishing the unwanted.
Personal Reflection on Bethlehem Lutheran Church Visit The main purpose of the visit was the review the key advantages of the service performed at the Lutheran Church. Other elements of the interior included the projector aimed at prompting and instructing the congregation […]
Retention of Youth by Indian Church of God A case study approach gives a chance to assess how strong the impact of the Indian Church of God is and to evaluate the role of individual members of the church, in particular, the senior […]
Religions Resources and Church Growth: Summary For the duration of this article, we will be focusing on both the unique and the generic. Another paper dealt with the dynamics of religious organisations and the people who belong to them.
New Testament Church and Missional Theology Examining the ways of using the Missional Theory in encouraging compliance with the principles of the New Testament Church, one should focus closer on the values and ideas that the aid New Testament Church invites.
Interreligious Dialogues of Church and Non-Christian Religions A final thing that I like about the school community is that people participate in the religious traditions and customs of others.
The Catholic Church in the Roman Empire In its ethical concepts, the Roman Catholic Church developed from Stoicism, which was in great harmony with the public mood of the Roman Empire.
The Christian Church at the Council of Nicaea The Council of Nicaea became the turning point in the religion since it created the principle of the Holy Trinity. The church persecutions, as well as the crisis in the Empire, played a considerable role […]
Ethical Failure and Its Effects on the Church Congregation Therefore, the results of the minister’s actions, especially their wrongdoings, could be disastrous and could affect a lot of people within different scenarios.”Ethical failure in the pulpit affects the pew” – the leaders of religious […]
Center Church by Timothy Keller Review The first section is about the gospel, in which the author shares his perceptions of the gospel, referencing various sources and connects it to certain aspects of life.
Ethical Failure in the Pulpit: Impact on the Church, Congregation, and Community It claims that when the people of the congregation of the minister sin, the priest is the one to blame. Thus, the pulpiteer must avoid ethical failures in addressing their congregation, as they know the […]
Role of the Black Church the Twenty-First Century Thus, the author notes the importance of the participation of the Black church in the public sphere as an agent of change and a connecting link for people of color who need help from the […]
The Need for the Ministry of Helps in the Church The Ministry of Helps is a vital structure within the church responsible for the support and maintenance of the smooth operation of the church.
The Church’s Attitude Toward Homosexual Marriage Erickson Millard claims that Jesus’s teaching about the permanence of marriage is based on the fact that: God made humanity as male and female and pronounced them to be one.
Philosophy of Religion: Approaches to Faith and Church The epistemology in this work is not based on avid socialism but a specific definition of concepts and their application to religion.
The US Churches Working Through the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown led to a crisis in the economy and industry, jeopardizing the business of many small and medium-sized enterprises, and leaving a large percentage of the population unemployed.
Relation Between Medical Sociology and Church As a result of the poor sanitation and wars which were going on, the church had sent nurses to attend the sick and the injured within the community.
Church and State, Offices and Officers Attachment In the book of Romans 13:1-7 and Mathews 22:15-21, Christians are expected to honor and live within the authority of the earthly leaders and even pay taxes since it is only God who has the […]
“The Upside Down Church” Book by Greg Laurie Laurie writes against this and insists upon the need to reshape the church structure so that it models that of the early church, which is in the book of Acts in the New Testament.
Tort Law: Lawsuit Against the Church That the actions of the church made the society to have a negative attitude towards the parents. The parents in this case can be said to be the legal owners of the child.
Australia Church History Overview: Cultural and Social Differences Between the Clergy and Their Parish Charles Strong was one of the prominent members of the Australian peace movement and the first minister of the Australian Church.
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The Visit to Ridge Community Church I felt my ethnocentrism at first as I tried to evaluate the meaning of the worship events and procedures from the point of my beliefs and experience.
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The New Prophecy: Echoes of Montanism in the New Apostolic Reformation

In 1994, a Fuller Seminary professor studying church growth coined a term for a movement he believed encapsulated the most radical development in church history since the Reformation . In his telling, this movement reached further back than the Reformation. Its roots lay in the age of the New Testament apostles, and its goal would be to recover the Great Commission by restoring something crucial that had been lost for nearly two millennia: the church offices of apostle and prophet. The professor was C. Peter Wagner (1930–2016), and the name he coined was the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR). Wagner not only named the NAR, but became its unofficial spokesman, helping it to grow into a movement that today boasts some of the fastest-growing churches in the world . How new, though, is the New Apostolic Reformation?

Eighteen hundred years ago, another movement entered the stage of church history. This movement would become known as Montanism, named after its founder, Montanus. He first rose to prominence around AD 172, claiming that he and others of his followers were prophets bringing a fresh outpouring of inspired revelation to the church . The early church was not convinced. Mainstream orthodox Christians ardently opposed Montanism, such that by the third century, the church had firmly placed Montanism in the category of heresy .

While the NAR displays a number of distinctive (and troubling) similarities to such aberrant movements in church history, in this essay I will focus on just one: the continuing prophetic office. Both groups share a belief in progressive, authoritative revelation mediated through prophets, and both officially hold that this new revelation illuminates and supplements Scripture without superseding it. In doing so, however, Montanism and the NAR functionally elevate prophecy to the same level as Scripture. Because Montanism and the NAR share a commitment to an ongoing, revelatory prophetic office, the classic Christian opposition to Montanism based on the church’s rejection of new authoritative prophecy also applies to the New Apostolic Reformation.

Progressive Revelation and the Prophetic Office

The distinctive Montanist emphasis on continuing prophecy is evident from the name the movement preferred for itself: the New Prophecy . This name highlights two dimensions of Montanism. First, the movement was innovative; Montanus and his followers believed there was a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their day . Montanists viewed the Holy Spirit’s new operation as akin to the first outpouring during the apostolic age yet distinct from it. Second, Montanists believed the Holy Spirit communicated additional, authoritative revelation through the New Prophecy .

Indeed, the surviving oracles of Montanus demonstrate that he believed he spoke the very words of God. The fourth-century church father Epiphanius transmitted the following two oracles of Montanus: (1) “‘I am the Lord God, the Almighty, dwelling in a man’” and (2) “Neither angel nor messenger, but I the Lord, God the Father, have come .” These proclamations indicate that Montanus and other adherents of the New Prophecy saw their oracles as more than mere biblical interpretations or applications—more than premonitions or even summaries of previous visions. Instead, they intended the church to receive their oracles as fresh utterances of the voice of God with binding authority.

The role of a Montanist prophet was to mediate new revelation as God’s mouthpiece, after the model of the Old and New Testament prophets. As one writer from the early church asserted, “They called us slayers of the prophets because we did not receive their loquacious prophets, who, they say, are those that the Lord promised to send to the people .” The promise referenced here is in Matthew 23:24 where Jesus said he would send prophets who would be persecuted and killed. Montanists saw themselves as the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. Like the prophets who also endured persecution before them, Christ had commissioned them to deliver new revelation to the church . The key point here is that Montanists did not merely believe in ongoing prophecy but in a continuing prophetic office commissioned by Christ to bring ongoing revelation to the church.

Today’s proponents of the NAR, too, believe their prophets receive direct new revelation. Montanists preferred to designate themselves as the New Prophecy because they represented a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit who inspires prophetic ministry. The NAR also sees itself as a new outpouring of the Spirit’s work. Wagner claimed that in 2001, the reestablished offices of apostle and prophet had reached sufficient recognition in the church to inaugurate what he termed the Second Apostolic Age . The Second Apostolic Age parallels the First Apostolic Age, lasting for the first two hundred years of the church because the Holy Spirit was once again inspiring the work of prophets and apostles . Regarding prophets in particular, Wagner held that while the gift of prophecy had existed throughout church history, properly speaking, “during the 1980s, the gift and office of prophet began to surface in churches” (emphasis added) . Wagner believed that the prophets of the NAR not only shared the gift of prophecy that the Old and New Testament prophets had but also filled the ordained ecclesiastical office of prophet .

Fundamental to this understanding is his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12:28 (NIV), where Paul states that “God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets,” and of Ephesians 4:11, where he similarly says that “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets” to the church. According to Wagner, these passages indicate that of “those who have the gift of prophecy, a certain few come to be recognized by the body of Christ as having the office of prophet .” NAR prophets are not simply everyday Christians or church leaders who receive supernatural insights from God; rather, reminiscent of Montanist prophets, they are unique, divinely ordained officers in the church delivering the very utterances of God afresh. In other words, Wagner’s claim that the prophetic office has reemerged in the NAR aligns the movement with the Montanist understanding of the re-establishment of the prophetic office. Both represent new prophetic movements distinct from the original apostolic age yet parallel to it; both claim authority that elevates their prophets to the level of those who delivered inspired revelation in the biblical past; and both movements assert that any opposition to their prophets constitutes opposition to God’s promises in Scripture.

New Revelation Formally Subordinate to Scripture

One may object that while NAR prophets claim to receive direct revelation from God, they do not believe that this revelation supersedes the Scriptures. For example, Bill Hamon, a prominent prophet in the NAR, holds this view. In their book A New Apostolic Reformation? , R. Douglas Geivett and Holly Pivec explain that Hamon believes NAR prophecies are merely a recovery of apostolic truths lost in the Middle Ages . For Hamon, the NAR is not discarding the Scriptures in favor of new revelation. Instead, the new revelation is a fulfillment of what has gone before. Rick Joyner, another NAR prophet, maintains the same position as Hamon, asserting that one cannot establish any new doctrine from a prophecy or vision since only Scripture has that authority . Similar convictions feature in statements of faith from NAR-aligned organizations . It seems, then, that NAR proponents maintain the historic Christian view that the Scriptures are the inerrant, infallible word of God and the ultimate authority on matters of doctrine. Does this admittedly high view of Scripture sufficiently distinguish the NAR from the Montanist movement? In reality, Montanists maintained a similar stance toward their prophecies in relation to Scripture.

Like the NAR, the Montanist movement viewed new revelation as a supplement to the Scriptures, not a replacement. This was the view that the church father Tertullian held after he came under Montanist influence later in life . Tertullian emphasized the Holy Spirit’s (or Paraclete’s) use of prophecy in guarding the church against error.

It was fit and proper, therefore, that the Holy Ghost should no longer withhold the effusions of His gracious light upon these inspired writings in order that they might be able to disseminate the seeds of truth with no admixture of heretical subtleties and pluck out from it their tares. He has accordingly now dispersed all the perplexities of the past, and their self-chosen allegories and parables, by the open and perspicuous explanation of the entire mystery, through the new prophecy, which descends in copious streams from the Paraclete .

Tertullian’s point here is that the New Prophecy illuminated past revelation, giving the church an authoritative interpretation of Scripture’s meaning. Tertullian maintained a high regard for the “inspired writings” of the apostolic age while believing that the New Prophecy provided a divinely communicated “perspicuous explanation” of those writings . This understanding of prophecy parallels that of Bill Hamon, who believes that NAR revelation illuminates Scripture without laying any new doctrine. Proponents of Montanism recognized the New Prophecy in much the same way that proponents of the NAR describe the pronouncements of their own prophets. For both groups, new prophetic revelation does not technically provide new doctrine, nor does it put aside any previous revelation. Instead, new revelation should be interpretive, providing a divine hermeneutic to understand the meaning and application of Scripture. Like the ancient church, however, we must recognize that functionally neither group limits the authority of prophecy in the way they claim.

New Revelation Functionally Elevated to Scriptural Coauthority

While prophecy was supposed to be merely interpretive for Montanists, it operated in the teaching and life of their communities in a way that was as authoritative as the Law, Prophets, Gospels, and Epistles. According to Tabbernee, even Tertullian conceded that Montanist prophecy constituted new Scripture in some sense and that Montanists viewed their prophets’ revelations as the final complete revelation for the church . Tertullian claimed that the righteousness of God progressed from natural law to the Law and Prophets, to the Gospels, and then finally to a mature state in the age of the Paraclete . By speaking of the New Prophecy as revelation’s maturity, Tertullian placed it at the same level of authority as previous Scripture. For Montanists, how can one’s understanding of Scripture be complete without interpreting it through the mature lens of the New Prophecy?

Other proponents of Montanism, such as Proculus, formally sought to establish written works of the New Prophecy as “new Scriptures .” Although the evidence is ambiguous, some Montanists may even have gone so far as to say that the New Prophecy superseded the apostolic writings . In any case, the Montanist movement held up the teachings of Montanus and other prophets as the supreme, mature revelation of the Spirit. No matter how much defenders of the movement may have wanted to distance themselves from the charge of introducing novelties to Christian faith and worship, the New Prophecy functionally operated as new Scripture.

Similarly, the NAR elevates its prophetic words to be functionally as authoritative as Scripture. For example, in Ephesians 3:4–5, Paul says to his audience, “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.” Bill Hamon, despite his admission of the Scripture’s superiority we saw earlier, interprets this passage as teaching that Paul “reveals that this anointing for divine revelation was not just given to the prophets of old but has now been equally given to Christ’s holy apostles and prophets in His church.” The logical conclusion is that if modern prophets have the “anointing for divine revelation . . . equally ” (emphasis added) with previous prophets, then their words are as authoritative as those of the former prophets . Wagner taught this explicitly, claiming that the Holy Spirit did not stop giving inspired revelation as written in the Old and New Testaments but continues to do so today . Others, like the prominent NAR apostle Ché Ahn, claim that NAR prophecies are not of the same authority as Scripture, while at the same time interpreting them in the same authoritative way one would Scripture .

Geivett and Pivec have pointed out the difficulty in reconciling statements about the supreme authority of Scripture by NAR advocates with the way they treat ongoing revelatory prophecy. If members of the NAR handle prophecy in the same way as Scripture, then this suggests that NAR proponents believe that their prophets’ revelations are of the same nature as Scripture . Just as in the Montanist movement, the NAR’s pronouncements on the formal limits of prophetic authority do not align with the functional authority they give to their prophecies alongside Scripture.

Adopting the Early Church’s Critique

Given these substantial overlaps in doctrine and practice regarding the renewal of the prophetic office and ongoing revelation, it naturally follows that many of the same arguments that the ancient church leveled against Montanists are now once again applicable to the New Apostolic Reformation.

One of those arguments is that the apostolic age marked the end of new revelation and, therefore, the prophetic office . According to the third-century presbyter Hippolytus, Montanists acted as if their new revelation was “something more” than that given in the Law, Prophets, Gospels, and Letters. But what other word from God should a Christian seek? For Hippolytus, there could not be a fuller or greater revelation following the apostolic age and the fullness of biblical revelation . Epiphanius related that the Montanists accused their opponents of not receiving the “gifts of grace,” including the gift of prophetic revelation. He responded by stating that the church had already received the “real gifts’’ of prophecy, which were “tried in God’s holy church through the Holy Spirit, and by prophets and apostles, and the Lord himself .” Epiphanus believed prophetic revelation had already come to the church and been proven valid: prophetic revelation received its completion during the apostolic age. Similarly, the fourth- to fifth-century church father Jerome believed that Jesus’ promise to send prophets was fulfilled in the time of the twelve apostles. Jerome appealed to Peter’s declaration in Acts 2:14–18 that the outpouring of the prophetic gift had arrived at Pentecost. “If, then, the apostle Peter . . . has expressly said that the prophecy and promise of the Lord were then and there fulfilled, how can we claim another fulfillment for ourselves? ” Thus, the prophets Jesus promised to send came with the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, brought divine revelation and interpretation, and then ceased their work at the close of the apostolic age.

If revelation ceased with the apostles, as the early church contended, then the NAR likewise cannot legitimately claim new revelation two millennia later. Wagner’s view that the prophetic office returned to the church in the 1980s does not agree with Hippolytus, Epiphanus, Jerome, and the rest of the fathers who contended that the New Prophecy must be a false prophecy because the final prophetic revelation for the church came in the time of the apostles. However, proponents of the NAR may respond by claiming that they have not only new prophets but also new apostles. How, then, did the early church understand revelation in relation to apostolic authority?

Undergirding the ancient church’s claim that progressive revelation ceased in the apostolic age was an appeal to the authority of the apostles who were directly, originally, and exclusively commissioned by Jesus. In disputes with Montanists, the early church increasingly turned to the apostles’ authority against that of Montanist revelations . For the early church fathers, the apostolic age marked the end of new revelation because the apostles were the final authority to legitimate new Scripture. Thus the ancient church saw Montanism and its advocacy of new revelation as an affront to the established and secure authority of the apostolic tradition, “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Wagner’s claim that the offices of apostle and prophet reemerged in the last fifty years similarly stands against the early church, which upheld the New Testament apostles as the final authority to deliver new revelation.

Furthermore, opponents of Montanism regularly appealed to the canonically established Scriptures against the New Prophecy . The Muratorian Fragment, written around AD 170, famously provides our earliest-known list of writings recognized by the church as canonical Scripture. The document asserts that nothing after the prophets and apostles is to be considered Scripture, while making allowance for books that Christians may privately read for edification. However, it does not include Montanist writings as part of the canonical or edifying books. Rather, the Muratorian Fragment asserts that the church is to “accept nothing whatever of . . . the Asian founder of the Cataphrygians” (Cataphrygians being another label for the Montanists) . This warning against Montanism in the Muratorian Fragment demonstrates that the church equated any acceptance of Montanist prophecy with undermining the inspired and authoritative canon of Scripture. It is true that none of the church fathers accused Montanists of trying to add Scriptures to the canon outright . However, their regular appeal to the canonical Scriptures against Montanism indicates that classic Christian orthodoxy has always believed that any claim to new revelation after the original apostles subverts the established canonical Scriptures of the church.

The New Apostolic Reformation is not all that new. Concerning its teaching of new prophetic revelation from a reestablished prophetic office, the NAR reflects much of what was already practiced by Montanism and rejected by the early church. Authority for the early church was not found in an ongoing prophetic office and most certainly not in an ongoing apostolic office. Revelatory authority rested in the apostles of the New Testament. They delivered the final words of inspired revelation in the documents that make up the canon of the New Testament. Thus contrary to the protestations of many proponents of the NAR, the NAR stands outside the orthodox stream of the church just like the New Prophecy before it. We do not need a fresh revelation from God, because he has already spoken and continues to speak through his living and active word (Heb. 4:12). May we be on guard against any wind of doctrine, old or new, that attempts to build on a foundation other than the one God has already provided (Eph. 2:20).

C. Peter Wagner, “The New Apostolic Reformation Is Not a Cult,” Charisma News , August 24, 2011.

R. Douglas Geivett and Holly Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement (Wooster, OH: Weaver, 2014), 9.

Johannes van Oort, “The Holy Spirit and the Early Church: The Experience of the Spirit,” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 68, no. 1 (2012): 3.

Christine Trevett, Montanism: Gender, Authority, and the New Prophecy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 215.

Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius , in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series , 2/1:237 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 5.19.2; hereafter ( NPNF ).

Trevett, Montanism , 3.

Epiphanius, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Books II and III, De Fide , Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, v. 79 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 16–17; Trevett, Montanism , 80–82.

Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius , 5.16.12 ( NPNF 2/1:232).

William Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments: Ecclesiastical and Imperial Reactions to Montanism , Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae , 0920–623X, v. 84 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 126.

C. Peter Wagner, Wrestling with Alligators, Prophets, and Theologians (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2010).

C. Peter Wagner, Apostles Today (Bloomington, MN: Chosen Books, 2014), 6.

Wagner, Apostles Today , 15.

Geivett and Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation? , 2.

C. Peter Wagner, Apostles and Prophets: The Foundation of the Church (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2000), 97.

Geivett and Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation? , 115.

Rick Joyner, The Final Quest Trilogy (Fort Mill, SC: MorningStar, 2016), 26.

See, for example, “Statement of Faith,” Generals International, https://www.generals.org/statement-of-faith.

While the commonly held belief that Tertullian broke from the church to become a Montanist is debated, it is true that the New Prophecy influenced him. Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments, 268.

Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh , in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325 , 4:594 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 63; hereafter ( ANF ).

Christine Trevett, “Apocalypse, Ignatius, Montanism: Seeking the Seeds,” Vigiliae Christianae 43, no. 4 (December 1989): 323.

Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments , 145.

Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins , 1 ( ANF 4:27–28).

Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius , 6.20.3 ( NPNF 2/1:268).

Pseudo-Tertullian, Against All Heresies , 7 ( ANF 3:654).

Bill Hamon, Apostles, Prophets, and the Coming Moves of God: God’s End-Time Plans for His Church and Planet Earth (Santa Rosa Beach, FL: Christian International; Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 1997), 140.

C. Peter Wagner, foreword in Harold R. Eberle, Systematic Theology for the New Apostolic Reformation: An Exposition in Father-Son Theology (Yakima, WA: Worldcast, 2015), 1.

Richard P. Moore, “The New Apostolic Reformation and Its Threat to Evangelicalism,” Evangelical Review of Theology 47, no. 2 (May 2023): 141.

Geivett and Pivec, A New Apostolic Reformation? , 116.

Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments , 110.

Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies , 8.12 ( ANF 5:123).

Epiphanius, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: Books II and III, De Fide , 7.

Jerome, The Letters of St. Jerome , 41.1-2 ( NPNF 2/6:55).

Trevett, Montanism , 136.

Hippolytus, The Refutation of All Heresies , 8.12 ( ANF 5:123); Eusebius of Caesarea, The Church History of Eusebius , 5.16.12 ( NPNF 2/1:232); Trevett, Montanism , 134.

Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance (Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), 205–7.

Tabbernee, Fake Prophecy and Polluted Sacraments , 343.

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