Includes bibliographical references and index

Period 1: in the beginning -- The broader context -- Abraham -- A transcendent/immanent God -- Period 2: pre- Christian evangelism -- Needed, a word from on high -- Hannah -- Faith in the promise to come -- Period 3: New Testament evangelism -- Jesus Christ, the promise fulfilled -- The apostle Paul -- The movement spreads -- Period 4: the expanse -- The circus and the cross -- Monica -- The evangelization of an empire, and beyond -- Period 5: the decline -- The challenges -- Boniface -- The opportunities -- Period 6: ambivalence : progression and regression -- Conquest and crusades -- Francis of Assisi - - Can these bones live? -- Period 7: exploration, exploitation, and reform -- Reform in the midst of exploration and exploitation -- Teresa of Avila -- Exploration and exploitation in the midst of reform -- Period 8: concepts of evangelism gradually mature -- God in the shadows -- Philipp Jakob Spener -- Evangelism is getting more organized -- Period 9: Revival and revolution -- Worldly wisdom and the word of God -- John Wesley -- Revival as the work of the spirit -- Period 10: Christianity becomes truly global -- A changing world -- Amanda Berry Smith -- The global vision -- Period 11: vigor amidst the storm -- The storm -- Toyohiko Kagawa -- The vigor -- Period 12: Christ and culture -- The "Third World" demands attention -- Mother Teresa -- Cross- cultural communication -- Period 13: what have we learned? -- September 11, 2001 -- The thin places