A Concise History of the Christian World Mission: A Panoramic View of Missions from Pentecost to the Present

It has been more than half a century since Kenneth Scott LaTourette finished his seven-volume work "The History of the Expansion of Christianity." That there is so much to say about the history of Christian missions means that any attempt to write a "concise history" of two millennia of spreading the Gospel throughout the world is going to be most difficult. Much of the story will be left untold. All in all, J. Herbert Kane has done a good job of distilling the essentials. As such, it is a worthwhile purchase for the person who presently knows little to nothing about the history of missions.However, while acknowledging the difficulty of Kane's task, there are still some problems that must be pointed out. First and foremost is the matter of balance. Kane devotes just 47 pages (of the nearly 200 pages of text) to the first 1200 years of church history. As a result, much of the fascinating story of the Christianization of Europe during this time is either summarized with too great brevity or missing entirely. Furthermore, a greater emphasis on the Catholic mission to East Asia, particularly Japan and China, in the late 1500s and 1600s, is needed. This is a most fascinating story, one that has ramifications today for the debate over contextualization of the Gospel. Kane devotes a woefully inadequate two pages to this story.Despite these problems I must applaud Kane's attempt to give this overview, for an appreciation of even the basics of the history of Christianity in general and the history of its mission is absent among so many Christians today.

Awesome book! Had to read it for seminary but I would read it on a personal level also.

Terrific information from a wonderful servant of God. He is sorely missed.

This is an excellent summary of the history of missions. The only drawback is that it is dated when it refers to present numbers of Hindus, Muslims total population etc. If these parts could be revised to reflect the present situation, then the book would be even more useful.

Kane does a good job of covering the waterfront on the history of missions. A great read if you have the passion for missions!

Excellent

Very helpful in grasping the history of Christian missions! It is short and very concise and easy for students to grasp!

book came soon and book is okay.I just want a book and I want it come soon, so that's what I want. the book doesn't miss pages and no big issue.