“Because Alice Ott’s new history takes seriously the essentially missionary character of Christianity (in the past as well as the present), it makes possible a truer, fuller, and more comprehensive understanding of the faith itself. Creative discussion of mission history in this well-researched and clearly written book make it an ideal resource for school, church, and personal instruction.”—Mark Noll, author of The New Shape of Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith

“The time is past when historians of global Christian missions focused narrowly on what Western missionaries did when they traveled overseas. Today scholars such as Ott feature the roles of local converts and evangelists in the growth of Christianity as well. This is a fantastic book. Using the turning points method of historian Mark Noll, Ott tells the story of the spread of the gospel since the apostolic age by zooming in on kairos moments in the history of Christian witness across cultural, linguistic, and ethnic frontiers. I recommend her work wholeheartedly as a textbook in what used to be called history of missions classes in colleges and seminaries.”—Douglas A. Sweeney, dean, Beeson Divinity School
“How and why did Christianity spread across the globe? Alice Ott answers this question with scholarly insight and a storyteller’s knack for illuminating crucial events. Taking the whole of Christian history, she identifies important new movements in God’s mission to the world. She challenges mission histories that have focused on pioneering white men, and she shows a cosmopolitan endeavor to explain the gospel afresh in new contexts. Understanding our past allows us to act well in the present. This book introduces a fascinating history that thoughtful Christians will want to ponder as they engage in the world today.”—Emma Wild-Wood, codirector, Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh; coeditor of Studies in World Christianity
“Using Mark Noll’s famous turning points framework, Alice Ott provides a much-needed big-picture perspective on the historic expansion of the global Christian church. With particular attention given to non-Western mission movements and pre–Protestant Reformation activity, she shows that Christianity has truly been a global faith.”—Edward L. Smither, dean, College of Intercultural Studies, Columbia International University