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In Christian education, a strong Biblical component, looking at both Old and New Testaments, is almost always included. That is very important, both for personal spiritual reasons, and because Western civilization, in general, and the United States of America, in particular, are built on the precepts of the Bible, with a lot of support from the Greek and Roman cultures. The Founding Fathers of America were well-versed in the Bible and in the classical, Greek and Roman, writings. However, what is often neglected in school and church is the history of the church, what happened after the Bible, both the great victories and the equally great defeats. At least for the last 2000 years, the secular history that is important to Western Civilization is interwoven with the history of the Church. Starting from the Book of Acts in the New Testament, church history includes fascinating and thrilling accounts of missionaries, martyrs, and great conflicts, such as Islam vs. Christianity, which started in the 600s AD and continues today. There are good books covering church history but these are usually for older readers. The two books reviewed below, both published by The Westminster Press in the 1950s, are both set at the upper elementary to early middle school reading level and should interest even reluctant readers.
The title of the book, I Will Build My Church, written by Amy Morris Lillie, is taken from Matthew 16 where the Lord Jesus Christ, at the town of Caesera Philippi, just outside the cave of Pan that was the literal “gates of Hades” according to the pagan Greeks, tells His apostles that He will build His church and the gates of hell will not be able to stand against it. Lillie’s book is a very nice collection of true stories, taken from the great sweep of 2000 years of history, showing the truth of our Lord’s great promise. The stories are very exciting, since much of the sweep of church history is dramatic and even almost hard to believe in their stirring action. In the book, there is an underlying “story behind the stories” of a group of brothers and sisters being told these stories by their father, which adds a nice touch to the flow of the book. Fathers who tell their children stories from history and literature will plant strength and love in their children’s hearts. I Will Build My Church is a good introduction to the content of church history, which is intertwined with secular history, and will serve to get children excited about seeing the hand of God in history.
Theirs is the Kingdom, by Jack M. MacLeod, tells some highlights of church history, from the time of the Book of Acts up to the mid-1940s. All the stories are based on real people and incidents. Some portray real people, such as Martin Luther or John Knox, while others portray the actions and words of fictional people in real situations that are known to have happened. At the end of the book, there are two useful pages that tell about what is known about each story from history. My personal favorite is “The Death of a God,” about how Boniface, a real missionary to Germany in the 700s AD, chopped down a large tree that was sacred to Thor, god of lightning, and built a small church from its wood. This gave a great opening for the gospel in pagan Germany, as you might expect! I have re-told that story to many groups of young children, who have always hung on every word of this brave man and the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ in pagan Germany. Just as in I Will Build My Church, Theirs is the Kingdom is a good introduction to the content of church history and will serve to help get children excited about the great Christian men and women over the centuries.