Kids Talk Church History

Most people are familiar with the hymn "Amazing Grace." According to statistics, it is performed approximately 10 million times worldwide every year. And that's just public performances. It doesn't count all the times when it's sung in churches. However, not everyone is familiar with the author of this hymn, John Newton, and his role in helping to abolish the slave trade while faithfully preaching...

At a time when Protestants were fiercely persecuted in France, a young woman named Marie Durand was imprisoned for her faith and remained in prison under terrible conditions for 38 years. Her letters to pastors and influential people were instrumental in closing the prison, and her letters to her niece express the faith that helped Marie stay true to Christ. Join Sophia, Emma, and Grace as they di...

Music has played an important role in church history. In previous episodes, we've talked about many composers who wrote hymns specifically for the church. However, there were also musicians like Bach who wrote sacred and secular music for the glory of God. Bach's compositions covered a wide range of emotions and were filled with theological insights. Join Sophia, Trinity, and Linus as they talk to...

Before the famous missionary William Carey was born, a group of Christian Moravians sent over 200 missionaries to 28 countries. Join Emma, Grace, and Priscilla as they ask Dr. Ed Smither, professor of Intercultural Studies and History of Global Christianity at Columbia International University and author of many books on church history and missions, to tell us all about the Moravians and their fas...

Time-travel back with Trinity, Grace, and Sean to 18th-century Wales to learn about a series of revivals led by young people who wanted to bring people back to a true worship of God. Listen to Dr. E. Wyn James, professor emeritus in the School of Welsh at Cardiff University and author of several books, as he tells us many fun stories about the 18th-century Welsh Revival. We’re also pleased to awar...

In this episode of Kids Talk Church History, we wrap up our fourteen-episode look at the seventeenth century, a war-torn time when the church crystallized its teachings with catechisms and confessions. Learn from our hosts why these confessions are important, why scholars are not boring, why some missionaries were forced to eat boiled shoes, and many more fun facts. Find out who their favorite cha...

In March 1643, Lady Brilliana Harley received a formal demand to surrender her castle to the royalists - those who supported the king against the Parliament. Her husband, Sir Robert Harley, had been in London since the start of the civil war. With six hundred soldiers marching against her and only fifty men fighting on her side, she had to decide whether to resist or surrender. Discover the rest o...

Have you ever heard of a philosopher named Descartes? The one who said, "I think therefore I am"? Many Christians were not impressed because he made himself the proof of anything that is real. He also believed that soul and body are completely separate, while the Bible teaches they are tightly related. One of the first Christians who challenged his teachings was Elisabeth, Princess Palatine of Boh...

Some of us have heard the names of 17th-century poets like George Herbert, John Donne, and John Milton. But did you know that John Bunyan also wrote poems? And that there were many female poets too? Join Trinity, Mina, and Sean as they discuss these poets and their exciting lives with Dr. David Parry, Tutorial Fellow in English at Regent’s Park College in Oxford, England.   Show Notes If you’d lik...

The Protestant Reformation spread around Europe in the 16th century but blossomed in Transylvania during the 17th century. Join Trinity, Mina, and Sean as they discover how Christ protected the Protestant churches in Transylvania and nearby Hungary and Romania. Listen to our Romanian guest, Rev. Mihai Corcea, as he explains the interesting history of the Transylvanian church during this time.   Sh...

Ready for something different? In this episode, our guests are three kids who, like our hosts, are promoting church history. Jackson, Madelyn, and Owen live in sunny California, where they make fun videos about church history and produce a wonderful podcast called All Things Together , a Five Solas Media Podcast. Join us for an energetic, inspiring conversation and hear about their passion for chu...

Have you ever heard about the Waldensians? Who were they? Why did they have to leave their homeland and how did they manage to return? Learn about this exciting story as Emma, Christian, and Linus talk with Dr. Erica Scroppo, Executive Secretary of the Waldensian Church Mission.   Show Notes: Dr. Scroppo found out that the exact distance the Waldensians walked on their march was 160 miles from nea...

We often think of William Carey as the father of modern Protestant missions, but did you know that many Protestants went to preach the gospel to foreign lands from the time of the Reformation? Join Emma, Christian, and Sean as they discover the exciting travels of French and Dutch Protestant missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thankfully, they have  Dr. Zach Purvis, professor of Church Hi...

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "scholar"? An old man buried behind a pile of old books? Join Emma, Christian, and Sean as they continue their trip through church history and meet some 17th-century scholars who have helped us understand what we believe and why. You'll be surprised by what they discover as they interview  Dr. Nick Cumming, associate professor of Humanities at Pepperd...

Piety is a good thing. It means devotion to God. Pietism was a movement in history that started out well and inspired many missionaries and hymn writers but caused some problems when it shifted people's attention from Christ's gospel to the pietists' own acts of devotion. Learn all about it as Trinity, Sophia, and Christian discuss this important movement with  Dr. Larry Rast, president of Concord...

How did the first Protestant hymns start? Who were the most important hymn writers? And how could they write so much about gladness while living through the pain and horrors of the Thirty-Years War? Trinity, Sean, and Grace sit down with Dr. Paul Grime, Dean of Spiritual Formation and Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to discover the answers to these ques...

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan has been translated into more than 200 languages, set to music, and made into movies. But who was its author and how did he start writing this book? Why did he have to spend 12 years in prison? And what do we know about his courageous wife Elizabeth and other women who influenced his life? Listen to the answers to these questions and more as Trinity, Sean, and...

When you think of early American writers, what comes to mind? Perhaps the writings or sermons of Puritans. Maybe you think of the Mayflower Compact. But did you know that Anne Bradstreet, an ordinary wife and mother of eight children in New England, was the first published poet on American soil? Join Emma, Grace, and Linus as they interview Dr. Francis Bremer, Professor Emeritus of Church History...

Some time ago, we discussed Guido de Bres and the doctrinal statements known as the Three Forms of Unity used by Reformed churches. However, there is another set of documents used by Presbyterian churches everywhere, known as The Westminster Standards, which includes The Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These documents were written in the seventeenth century by a group of...

Every year on the 31st of October, an Eastern European country named Slovenia celebrates Reformation Day - the day Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. It’s a national holiday when people stay home from work and school. Particularly interesting is that less than 1% of Slovenians are Protestant! So why these celebrations? Tune in to Kids Talk Church History as...

The inscription on John Owen's grave says he is "a traveler on earth who grasped God like one in heaven." Later, he was called "the Prince of Puritans." How did he earn these high praises while navigating one of the most tumultuous times in British history, when hundreds of others were forced to leave the country? Why did they find six boxes of pistols in his house? And how was he instrumental in...

Quakers, Ranters, Seekers, Diggers...so many groups were formed after the Reformation. What were they saying, and why did most Christians warn against them? Did any of them leave a positive legacy? Listen as Trinity, Christian, Emma, and Ruth discuss these questions and more with Dr. Michael Haykin, professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality and director at The Andrew Fuller Center for...

When young Thomas Goodwin and his friends went out to have fun, they decided to go to a funeral. Whether they had nothing else to do or were planning to sneer, the sermon Goodwin heard changed his life forever. Join Trinity, Emma, and Christian as they interview Dr. Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, who has writte...

Have you ever heard of the Canons of Dort? In case you are wondering, they are not cannons fired by a commander named Dort. They are a set of explanations written in the 17th century to answer some protesters. But if you think that a meeting of pastors writing a list of explanations must be boring, be ready to be surprised as you listen to this episode as Trinity, Emma, Christian, and Sean talk to...

In this episode of Kids Talk Church History, we wrap up our fourteen-episode look at the Reformation, a momentous time that changed the history of the Church. As they did for the early Church and the Middle Ages, most of our hosts get together in this episode to discuss what they have learned and discovered about the period known as the Reformation. And they are joined once again by one of our lis...