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Christians throughout history may be justly accused of many failures, but it appears neglecting evangelism is not one of them. Observers of Christian growth have been suggesting over the last few decades that the faith is experiencing a significant migratory moment, not unlike the first explosive venture outside the tribe of the Jews into the unfamiliar world of the gentiles. That movement internationalized Christianity, then Hellenized it and eventually Europeanized it.

As historians have become aware of Christianity as a worldwide phenomenon, the traditional division between “church history” and the “history of mission” has come to seem strange and inappropriate. The early Christian encounter with Greco-Roman religion and the 19th-century Christian encounter with Hinduism seem more similar and worthy of comparison. The cultural and linguistic diversity of the early church stands out in a new way.