Offering an essential historical overview of the chief developments in Christian mission, this should become a standard textbook.

"[This book] charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity"--Amazon.com.

A History of Christian Missions traces the expansion of Christianity from its origins in the Middle East to Rome, the rest of Europe and the colonial world, and assesses its position as a major religious force worldwide. Many of the world’s religions have not actively sought converts, largely because they have been too regional in character. Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, however, are the three chief exceptions to this, and Christianity in particular has found a home in almost every country in the world. Professor Stephen Neill’s comprehensive and authoritative survey examines centuries of missionary activity, beginning with Christ and working through the Crusades and the colonization of Asia and Africa up to the present day, concluding with a shrewd look ahead to what the future may hold for the Christian Church.

This book makes visible an important but neglected aspect of Christian missions: its transnational character. Missionaries considered themselves global actors, yet they operated within a variety of nation-states. The volume demonstrates how processes on a national level are closely linked to larger transnational processes.

Written in an engaging style and intended largely for a lay audience, The Evangelization of the World tells the remarkable story of how Christianity grew from an insignificant Jewish sect in the first century until, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, it had become the world’s first truly global religion. The book is careful to explain historical context and mission theory, but the foci of the narrative are the great personalities of mission—the Apostle Paul, St. Martin of Tours, St. Patrick, St. Francis Xavier, John Eliot, Count Von Zinzendorf, William Carey, Robert Morrison, David Livingstone, Mary Slessor, Albert Schweitzer, and many others—who make this account of the expansion of the church a fascinating and often dramatic tale. In addition, the book does not neglect the great mission conferences of the twentieth century, nor does it avoid the controversial aspects of mission that, in many instances, continue to vex the movement today.

Christianity Reborn provides the first transnational in-depth analysis of the global expansion of evangelical Protestantism during the past century. While the growth of evangelical Christianity in the non-Western world has already been documented, the significance of this book lies in its scholarly treatment of that phenomenon. Written by prominent historians of religion, these chapters explore the expansion of evangelical (including charismatic) Christianity in non-English-speaking lands, with special reference to dynamic indigenous responses. The range of locations covered includes western and southern Africa, eastern and southern Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. The concluding essay provides a sociological account of evangelicalism's success, highlighting its ability to create a multiplicity of faith communities suited to very different ethnic, racial, and geographical regions. At a time of great interest in the growth of Christianity in the non-Western world, this volume makes an important contribution to our understanding of what may be another turning point in the historical development of evangelical faith. Contributors: Marthinus L. Daneel Allan K. Davidson Paul Freston Robert Eric Frykenberg Jehu J. Hanciles Philip Yuen-sang Leung Donald M. Lewis David Martin Mark A. Noll Brian Stanley W. R. Ward