Christian History

Rise of the Sunday school movement

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The steady improvement of secular schools made it imperative that Sunday schools should be improved if they were to truly help their pupils, and by the end of the nineteenth century it was evident that extensive modifications must be made. A particularly valuable experiment was the instruction of teachers at summer assemblies and by means of local study classes. The Chautauqua Movement for popular education grew out of a summer assembly for the better training of Sunday school teachers. It outlined a system of reading courses that were adopted widely by local groups of teachers and other interested persons, with an annual gathering at Chautauqua, New York. These assemblies lasted for several weeks with lectures and intensive study. In 1903 the Religious Education Association was organized to put religious education on a broader basis than the Sunday school. Composed mainly of ministers and educators, it was organized into expert commissions that investigated conditions, planned improvements, and published useful aids for religious education. This group was not only active in the Sunday schools but they also worked with colleges, Young Men’s Christian Associations, and young people’s societies.

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American foreign missions

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For nearly thirty years Presbyterians and other Reformed churches contributed to the American Board, but at the end of that period denominational organization seemed to each group a better arrangement. Both Methodists and Episcopalians followed the example of the rest. Smaller denominations carried on independent operations in various regions.

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English and Scottish foreign missions

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English and Scottish missions in the late eighteenth and early to mid-nineteenth centuries not only brought the Gospel message, they were also instrumental in fomenting social reforms, bringing medical care, and ending pagan practices that destroyed the lives of women and children.

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German Inner Mission, The

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The Inner Mission enlarged its scope beyond the expectations of its founders. Various organizations were created for children and young adults. Numerous agencies were established to cope with social ills. In short, it served a vital ministry role during the nineteenth century.

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Salvation Army, The

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Catherine died of cancer but not before she had worked tirelessly to secure the passage of laws that improved the lives of women and children. William lived another two decades and saw his organization spread to 55 countries. During his lifetime he traveled over five million miles and preached about 60,000 sermons. The Salvation Army continues to thrive and provide help for those in need, in Christ’s name, throughout the world.

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Missions to the Native Americans

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Sadly the Indians came to be regarded as wards of the Government, and it became national policy to place them on specified reservations. The missionaries sent out by Eastern societies were the only groups sympathetic to this maltreatment and they tried to help by building schools, churches, and clinics.

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Revival along the Appalachian frontier

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The opportunity for social gatherings had a powerful appeal to people who were starving for companionship. They were stirred by the evangelistic drive of the preachers, who encouraged emotional expression. The same exhibitions of tearful remorse and exuberant joy that appeared in England under Wesley’s preaching and in the Great Awakening in America appeared on the frontier. Out of the conversions of the camp meetings, the churches gathered recruits and the morals of the region showed dramatic improvement.

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