The Christian church has had a somewhat chequered history. In order to understand many of the present trends in church, it is important to learn from the past, both high points and low points. One way to do this is to read church history through a theological lens. This will enable students who wish to develop and enhance their ministry practice to locate current issues and developments in contemporary church life and practice within a much larger framework of the unfolding story of the church. Theologically, this story of the church can be engaged as the continuing unfolding of the purposes of God amidst the ambiguities, successes and failures of his followers. This module will address aspects of the history of the church in this way. This module aims to:

• consider some of the main developments in the story of the church;

• enable students to engage with aspects of the story of the church theologically;

• introduce students to some of the main characters of the story of the church;

• capture the imagination of students;

• demonstrate the relevance of good historical study;

• enable students to reflect on what can be learnt today from the failures and successes of the past story of the church;

• consider how the story of the church can be communicated to the contemporary church;

• develop a humility in students about their life and ministry in the light of the story of the church.