In this message, Pastor Pete unpacks the different stages of church history, starting at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the believers, followed by the church’s phenomenal growth, despite waves of persecution under Roman rule. He then traces the decline of the church after the conversion of Emperor Constantine; a decline which coincided with the rise of Islam, the Crusades and the Inquisition. The ‘dark ages’, however, gave way, from the fourteenth century onwards, to several movements that saw God’s hand clearly at work in restoring His church, when He raised up mighty men (John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, Nikolaus Zinzendorf, Charles Spurgeon, Smith Wigglesworth, to name but a few) who fearlessly proclaimed the authority of the Bible, the power of the Gospel, the importance of mission works and of spiritual gifts. Knowing the history of the church however, is not simply about acquiring facts, but understanding that all of us, followers of Christ, have a part to play in the building of His church.
