This class traces the history of American Christianity from the colonial era to the present, focusing on the major movements and ideas that shaped the nation’s religious life.

Together we will explore the Great Awakenings, evangelical revivalism, reform movements, the Civil War, urban ministry, liberal theology, fundamentalism, modern evangelicalism, and Reformed/Presbyterian developments. Along the way, we will see how American Christianity was repeatedly transformed by cultural change, immigration, intellectual challenges, political change, war, and the quest for spiritual renewal. We will also consider how Christians have wrestled with questions of doctrine, worship, social and political engagement, and faithfulness in every generation.

Above all, this course will remind us that while churches, movements, and institutions rise and fall, Christ continues to preserve and build His church throughout history. 

In our Sunday school classes and Bible studies, we teach whatever is profitable, usually revolving around four key areas of growing maturity (summarized by the acronym TREE):

• Thirsting for Christ (the gospel),
• Reaching out with Christ's love,
• Exalting God in worship, and
• Evangelizing the lost