BCs

stephen j. nichols

nic

ho

ls & b

usta

rd

ned bustard

the Church History

ABC

sthe C

hurch Histo

ry Augustine

and twenty-five

other heroes

of the Faith

Dramatically converted on the stormy seas, a slave-trader-turned-abolitionist penned

the best-loved hymn of the Christian faith. A church father was arrested and mar-

tyred for teaching the truth about Christ’s incarnation. Captured by pirates and

shipped off to Ireland, a priest baptized thousands of pagans, from paupers to

princes. Now who ever said church history was boring?

The Church History ABCs is a fun way for kids to learn about great figures in Chris-

tian history. Twenty-six heroes of the faith march through the alphabet, boldly telling

their stories in language children can understand. This wide range of characters—

men and women from across the centuries and from all over the globe—reflects the

breadth of church history and reminds children that these great figures of the past

were living, breathing people who lived and died for the glory of God.

STEPHEN J. NICHOLS has written twelve books, including Heaven on Earth and

The Reformation. He is research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster

Bible College and Graduate School.

NED BUSTARD, a graphic artist, has written and illustrated many children’s books,

including Ella Sings Jazz, The Story of Sir Galahad, and The Sailing Saint.

CHILDREN AGES 3–6

“This is a really great book . . . except that they didn’t include me.” John Bunyan, author, Pilgrim’s Progress“I really enjoyed this church history book for young people, until I got

to the letter W.” George Whitefield, evangelist

“An excellent resource for young and old—but where is Athanasius?”

C. S. Lewis, author, The Chronicles of Narnia series

“A fine book; I hope there’s a sequel. I better be in it.”

Henry VIII, K

ing of England, 1509–1547

stephen j. nicholsned bustard

G is for Grace, and so is this book

S. N.

L is for Leslie,my lovely historian

N. B.

The Church His tor y ABCs: Augus t ine and Twenty - f ive Other Heroes of the Fai thCopyr ight ©2010 by Stephen J . Nichols and Ned Bus tardPubl ished by Crossway 1300 Crescent S t ree t Wheaton, I l l inois 60187

Al l r igh ts reser ved. No par t of th is publ icat ion may be reproduced, s tored in a re t r ieval sys tem, or t ransmi t ted in any form by any means, e lec t ronic, mechanical , photocopy, recording, or o therwise, wi thout the pr ior permiss ion of the pub-l i sher, except as provided for by USA copyr ight law.

Book design and i l lus t ra t ion: Ned Bus tardFi rs t pr in t ing 2010Pr in ted in Singapore

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-1472-2 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-1473-9Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-1474-6EPub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2466-0

L ibrar y of Congress Cataloging- in -Publ icat ion Data Nichols, S tephen J . , 1970- The church his tor y ABCs : Augus t ine and 25 other heroes of the fai th / Stephen J . Nichols, Ned Bus tard. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-4335-1472-2 (hc) 1. Chr is t ian biography- - Juveni le l i te ra ture. 2. Church his tor y - - Juveni le l i te ra ture. 3. Engl ish language- -A lphabet - - Juveni le l i te ra ture. I . Bus tard, Ned. I I . Ti t le. BR1704.N53 2010 270.092’2- -dc22 2009043263

Crossway is a publ ish ing minis t r y of Good News Publ ishers.

IMG 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 1011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Introduction Youprobablyenjoyhearingstoriesofyourparentsorgrandparents.Ofcourse,everybodywalkedtoschoolbackthenanditwasalwayssnowing!Youevenliketohearstoriesaboutyourfriends.Youknow,likethetimeJackfellofftheboatandgotallwet.

Youenjoythesestoriesbecausethepeopleinthemareveryspecialtoyou.Youalsolikethesestoriesbecausethesestoriestellyousomethingaboutyou.

Thepeopleofchurchhistoryarealsoveryspecialtoyou.Theirstoryisyourstory.Theirstoryalsotellsyousomethingaboutyou.TheBibletellsusthatweallbelongtoonebigfamily,thefamilyofGod.Andtherearealotofstoriestobetoldinthisbigfamily.Inthisbook,wecanonlytellthestoryoftwenty-sixofthesepeoplebecausethereareonlytwenty-sixlettersinouralphabet.Buttherearemanymorestoriesthatcouldbetold.

Infact,thisstoryhasn’tevenendedyet.Somedayyouwillbeaddingyourownstorytoit.

Soopenthesepagesandmeetyournewfriends.Theyallhaveagreatstorytotell....

4

saint augustine

When I was a youngboy,Itooksomepearsthatdidnotbelongtome.Ididnotwantthepears; I just enjoyeddoingwrong.ButGodloved me and Christdiedtoforgiveallmysin.YearslaterwhenIwasservingasabishop,I wrote two famousbooks.And Iworkedhard to remind thechurchthatGodlovesusbeforewelovehim.

A is for apricot, apple, and Augustine—Africa’s ancient bishop

5

B is for boat, berries, and Anne Bradstreet, America’sfirst bard

annebradstreet

IwasborninEngland.Iwouldspendmydaysreadingbooks,especially poetry. Because weweren’tfreetopracticeourfaith,weboardedalargeboatboundforBoston.Myfatherwasthegovernorofthecolonyandlatermyhusbandwas,too.Wehadaverybusyhouse.Atnightwhenit was quiet I would write mypoetry.Iwroteaboutkingsandqueens and nature and aboutmy family. I also wrote abouttrustingGodevenduringhardtimes—like when my houseburneddown.Theycallmea“bard.”Thatisafancywordfor“poet.”IjustwantedtousemygifttoserveandglorifyGod.

C is for catfish, castle, and John Calvin, champion Reformer

IgrewupinFranceandwenttocollegeinParis,abigcitywithbigcathedrals.Iwasonly14,andIwasnotveryinterestedinchurchorinGod.ThenGodcaptured my heart and made me his child. I leftFranceforSwitzerland—butIneverlearnedtoyodel.IendedupatthecityofGeneva.ItaughtpeopleallaboutGod’screation,allaboutChrist’sdeathonthecross,andallaboutbecominggoodandcaringcitizens.WesentmissionariesacrosstheborderintoFranceandevenacrosstheseastoBrazil.

I wrote many books. In one of them Ichimed,“Everybladeofgrassandevery

color in this world is intended tomakeusrejoiceinGod.”

john calvin

7

IlivedinEnglandduringthetimeoftheReformation.Englandisareallybig island. Ionce said,“Nomanisanisland.”Wealldependoneachother. Iwent toCambridge for study, but I spentmost of my time outdoors writingpoetry.ThenImovedtoLondon.Iwouldwalkacrossthebridgesatnightandwriteevenmorepoems.Duringthe day, I was a lawyer and wassoonelectedamemberofParlia-ment.Finally,whenIwasforty-fiveyearsoldIbecameapastor.Mywifeand I had a dozen—that’s twelve—kids.Peopleliketoreadmypoems,saying they’re quite dramatic. MyfavoritepoemsweremyDevotions.InoneofthemIsaid,“Don’taskforwhomthebelltolls,ittollsforthee.”

john donne

D isfor

door,drawing,and John

Donne8

Iwastheonlybrothertotensisters.Theyhelpedmewithmystudiesandtaughtmetoridehorses.IstartedpinningscrapsofclothtomycoattohelpmerememberideasIwouldgetonlonghorsebackrides. I used these ideas in sermons I preachedand in books I wrote. With my friend GeorgeWhitefield,IwaspartoftheGreatAwakeningintheAmericancolonies.IwasalsoamissionarytotheMohicanIndians.AndforalittlewhileIwasevenpresidentofPrincetonUniversity.EverywhereIwentIwantedpeopletoenjoyGodandtoenjoywhatGodhasmade—evenspiders.

jonathan edwards

E isfor eggs,elephants,and JonathanEdwards

9

BCs

stephen j. nichols

nic

ho

ls & b

usta

rd

ned bustard

the Church History

ABC

sthe C

hurch Histo

ry

Augustine

and twenty-five

other heroes

of the Faith

Dramatically converted on the stormy seas, a slave-trader-turned-abolitionist penned

the best-loved hymn of the Christian faith. A church father was arrested and mar-

tyred for teaching the truth about Christ’s incarnation. Captured by pirates and

shipped off to Ireland, a priest baptized thousands of pagans, from paupers to

princes. Now who ever said church history was boring?

The Church History ABCs is a fun way for kids to learn about great figures in Chris-

tian history. Twenty-six heroes of the faith march through the alphabet, boldly telling

their stories in language children can understand. This wide range of characters—

men and women from across the centuries and from all over the globe—reflects the

breadth of church history and reminds children that these great figures of the past

were living, breathing people who lived and died for the glory of God.

STEPHEN J. NICHOLS has written twelve books, including Heaven on Earth and

The Reformation. He is research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster

Bible College and Graduate School.

NED BUSTARD, a graphic artist, has written and illustrated many children’s books,

including Ella Sings Jazz, The Story of Sir Galahad, and The Sailing Saint.

CHILDREN AGES 3–6

“This is a really great book . . . except that they didn’t include me.” John Bunyan, author, Pilgrim’s Progress“I really enjoyed this church history book for young people, until I got

to the letter W.” George Whitefield, evangelist

“An excellent resource for young and old—but where is Athanasius?”

C. S. Lewis, author, The Chronicles of Narnia series

“A fine book; I hope there’s a sequel. I better be in it.”

Henry VIII, K

ing of England, 1509–1547