📖 Overview
Seven Hundred Plans to Evangelize the World documents Christian evangelization strategies from the 1st century CE through modern times. The book catalogs and analyzes hundreds of historical proposals for spreading Christianity globally.
Barrett examines various approaches to world evangelization, including missionary movements, church planting initiatives, and mass communication strategies. The text includes data on both successful and failed evangelization attempts, along with the methodologies and resources employed in each case.
The work serves as a reference guide for religious scholars and missiologists, with detailed appendices and statistical information. The collected plans range from local community outreach to comprehensive global strategies spanning multiple generations.
This systematic study reveals patterns in how religious movements adapt and evolve over time, while highlighting tensions between traditional and innovative approaches to faith-spreading. The text raises questions about the nature of religious expansion and cultural exchange across civilizations.
👀 Reviews
There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of David B. Barrett's overall work:
Readers praise Barrett's meticulous data collection and comprehensive scope in the World Christian Encyclopedia, with many academic reviewers noting its value as a reference work. Several scholars highlight his innovative methods for tracking religious movements in Africa where formal records were scarce.
What readers liked:
- Detailed statistical analysis backed by field research
- Clear presentation of complex demographic data
- Regular updates that tracked changing religious patterns
What readers disliked:
- Technical writing style that some found difficult to parse
- High cost of publications limited accessibility
- Some questioned methodology for counting adherents in overlapping religious groups
Review data is limited since Barrett's works were primarily academic publications. The World Christian Encyclopedia maintains a 4.5/5 rating on Amazon (12 reviews) and 4.3/5 on Goodreads (8 reviews).
Academic reviewers frequently cite the "unprecedented scope" of his demographic work, though some note potential Western bias in classification methods. One reviewer noted: "Barrett created the foundation for understanding global religious demographics, despite some methodological limitations."
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World Christian Encyclopedia by David B. Barrett This comprehensive reference documents the status of Christianity in every country with detailed statistics on denominations, growth patterns, and evangelistic activities.
Global Church Planting by Craig Ott, Gene Wilson The text provides systematic methods for establishing churches across cultures through research-based strategies and case studies from multiple continents.
The Future of the Global Church by Patrick Johnstone The book analyzes historical trends and demographic data to present projections for Christian mission movements and religious changes through 2050.
Understanding World Christianity by Douglas Jacobsen This work maps the spread of Christianity across six continents through statistical analysis and examination of indigenous Christian movements.
World Christian Encyclopedia by David B. Barrett This comprehensive reference documents the status of Christianity in every country with detailed statistics on denominations, growth patterns, and evangelistic activities.
🤔 Interesting facts
📚 The book documents over 700 strategies proposed between 30-1900 CE to convert the entire world to Christianity
🌎 David Barrett spent 15 years researching and collecting these evangelization plans while working as a missionary in Africa
📊 The author found that many of the plans followed similar patterns, often proposing to divide the world into sections and assign different missionary groups to each region
⏳ Some of the earliest plans in the book date back to the Roman Empire, when Christianity was still an emerging religion
🔄 Barrett's research revealed that despite centuries of different approaches, most plans struggled with the same core challenges: language barriers, cultural differences, and resource limitations