A definitive history of Christian evangelism—including noteworthy persons, movements, and methods from the pastChristians have been sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers for tw
A definitive history of Christian evangelism—including noteworthy persons, movements, and methods from the past
Christians have been sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers for two thousand years. Within this deep history is wisdom for today—including numerous models for understanding what evangelism is and how it should be done.
In Gospel Witness through the Ages, David Gustafson introduces readers to evangelism’s noteworthy persons, movements, and methods from the entire scope of church history—including both examples to emulate and examples to avoid. With this thorough historical approach, Gustafson expands the reader’s conception of the evangelistic task and suggests new ways to shape our identity as gospel witnesses today through the influence of these earlier generations of Christians.
With discussion questions for further reflection and primary sources from major evangelistic figures of the past, Gospel Witness through the Ages is the most definitive history of evangelism available—essential for understanding how Christians today can continue proclaiming the gospel to the whole world, as Christians have in every century past.
“Evangelism might be one of the most misunderstood and under-practiced spiritual disciplines in the evangelical church today. In Gospel Witness through the Ages, David Gustafson has produced a valuable resource to help the church remember, theologically, what evangelism is while also offering a historical account of the various evangelism models and practices the church has employed throughout the last two millennia. My prayer is that the Spirit of God will use this work to recapture the church’s passion for evangelism while helping the church to imagine new evangelism models and practices for the twenty-first century.”
— Ed Stetzer
dean of the School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership at Wheaton College
“Each generation has the God-given responsibility to use its voice, resources, and spiritual gifts to share the message of the gospel. Power, manipulation, greed, and arrogance are common threads in the sad stories highlighted in Gospel Witness through The Ages. Humility, Christ-like character, and genuine love for others underpin the good stories. What story will your life and the life of your faith community tell? I have known David Gustafson for many years. He is a faithful follower of Christ and a thoughtful and effective evangelist. This book will help you learn from history so you can make your best contribution as you seek to share Christ in a world that so desperately needs good news!”
— Mary T. Lederleitner
author of Women in God’s Mission: Accepting the Invitation to Serve and Lead
founder and executive director of Missional Intelligence
“History shows us that the opportunities and challenges for evangelism are different for different times and places. Today’s world is different from yesterday’s. And tomorrow’s world will be different from today’s. So how can we proclaim the never-changing gospel to this ever-changing world? This is where David M. Gustafson’s Gospel Witness through the Ages is a supremely valuable textbook. It gives us a comprehensive survey of the history of evangelism. If we read this book, we won’t just learn from the mistakes of the past, but we will also stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. The baton of the one whose beautiful feet bring good news will be passed on to a whole new generation.”
— Sam Chan
City Bible Forum, Australia
author of Evangelism in a Skeptical World
“Those of us involved in Christian higher education have needed a learned, faithful, general history of Christian gospel witness for quite some time. Kudos to David Gustafson for meeting the need so well. His prose is crystal clear, his chapters are reliable, his judgments fair-minded and theologically edifying. This is now the go-to book on the subject.”
— Douglas A. Sweeney
dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
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David M. Gustafson is chair of the mission and evangelism department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is also the author of Gospel Witness: Evangelism in Word and Deed.
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Table of Contents
Introduction: Foundations to the History of Evangelism
1. The Beginning of Christian Evangelism
2. Early Church Evangelism
3. Christendom and Monastic Evangelism
4. Medieval Evangelism
5. Renaissance Evangelism
6. Reformation Evangelism
7. Pietist Evangelism
8. Revival Evangelism
9. Frontier to Urban Evangelism
10. Social Gospel versus Soul-Saving Evangelism
11. Global Indigenous Evangelism
12. Personal to Holistic Evangelism
Epilogue: Evangelism in the Twenty-First Century
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