HIST101 — Church History: The Story of the Church
Those who don't know history are condemned to repeat its mistakes — and miss its lessons.
Course Purpose
- A student who doesn't know where the church came from will repeat its mistakes and be vulnerable to movements presenting themselves as new but recycling old errors.
- Church history is not a collection of names and dates — it is the record of God's faithfulness through imperfect people across every century.
- Understanding how we got here — through councils, reformations, revivals, and missions — gives every minister a map of the territory they're working in.
Why This Course Matters
- Every major heresy the church faces today has been faced and answered before — knowing the answers already in the record is an enormous advantage.
- The Spirit-filled movements of today stand on the shoulders of centuries of Spirit-filled men and women who paid a high price for the Gospel we now carry freely.
- Without historical grounding, ministers are chronological snobs — assuming the present moment is the only one that matters.
Course Outline
- Week 1: The Early Church — Pentecost to Persecution
- Week 2: The Apostolic Fathers — Holding the Line
- Week 3: The Great Councils — Defining Doctrine Under Pressure
- Week 4: Constantine and the Cost of Acceptance
- Week 5: The Desert Fathers — The Recovery of Depth
- Week 6: The Medieval Church — Glory and Corruption
- Week 7: The Reformation — Scripture Alone, Faith Alone
- Week 8: The Radical Reformers — The Free Church Tradition
- Week 9: Revival — Wesley, Whitefield, and the Great Awakenings
- Week 10: The Modern Missionary Movement — The Gospel to Every Nation
- Week 11: The Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal
- Week 12: The Global Church Today — And Where We Fit
Full lesson content and assignments available after login.