Revival, mission, and global Protestantism
About this date: Azusa Street in 1906 and Lausanne in 1974 are selected milestones, not the beginning of all Pentecostal or international Christian mission. Historical statistics in conference documents are not present-day counts.
Moravian, Methodist, evangelical, Pentecostal, and other movements extend Protestant Christianity through revival and global mission. Local communities reshape these traditions beyond their European origins.
Why it matters
Global Protestant history includes local agency, theological diversity, and debates about culture and responsibility, not only the outward expansion of European institutions.
Historical context
Mission history includes education and service as well as entanglement with colonial power. Pentecostalism has several origins, and global Protestantism is more varied than its early European confessions.
Key points
- Moravian and Methodist networks give new forms to evangelism and discipleship.
- Azusa Street is an important Pentecostal milestone, not its only origin.
- Edinburgh and Lausanne are different moments in missionary cooperation.
- Lausanne Covenant 4-6 distinguishes evangelism from social action while affirming Christian responsibilities in both; sections 8, 10, and 11 call for partnership, cultural self-criticism, and local leadership.
Common questions
- Does global mission mean only Western churches sending workers elsewhere? No. Lausanne 8 describes a broader partnership, and section 11 calls for local leadership. These are the covenant's commitments, not proof that every mission organization fulfilled them.
- Does Lausanne replace evangelism with social responsibility? No. Sections 4-6 distinguish the tasks, affirm responsibility for both, and give evangelism priority within the church's mission.
Sources and further reading
- Lausanne Covenant
Supports the distinction between evangelism and social action and the calls for partnership, cultural self-criticism, and local leadership. - World Council of Churches: Edinburgh 1910
Related records
- Baptist World Alliance founded
- Moravian renewal at Herrnhut
- Wesleyan Methodist revival
- Azusa Street revival and Pentecostal expansion
- Edinburgh World Missionary Conference
- Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization
- What is Protestantism?
- Church History
- Protestant confessions and denominational families
- Church of South India inaugurated
- Serampore prints a Bengali New Testament
- Black Methodist congregations form the AME Church
- The complete Malagasy Bible is printed
- The Booths begin the East London mission
- The complete Yoruba Bible is published
- The Chinese Union Version is published
- Belhar confesses unity, reconciliation, and justice