Trailer
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. This is a 13-part documentary about how the gospel went from a small group of followers in the backwaters of the Roman Empire to become a global faith in the 20th century. How did the Gospel spread? Why? And who risked danger, persecution and death to fulfill Jesus’ last words in Acts 1:8?
Episode 01 - Jesus of Nazareth
From an obscure Jewish village in a small first century AD Roman province, Jesus emerged and over a three year period was hailed as the expected Jewish Messiah. Jesus’ followers soon began to boldly call all people, not just Jews, to follow Him. The Christian faith spread through the transformation of individuals who then carried the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
26 mins
Episode 02 - Paul and the Early Church
Within seventy years of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the movement that began with Him had spread with great rapidity in the south, east and west. A key player in these early days was a Jew named Saul, later renamed Paul. Travelling back and forth across the Mediterranean, planting small groups of new Christians, writing letters to those churches, setting an example of mission work, Paul established the pattern for following generations of believers to take the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
26 mins
Episode 03 - The Persecuted Church
Persecution runs like a scarlet thread through all the history of the Church. From their earliest days, followers of Jesus have faced varying degrees of oppression, opposition, and violence at different periods. Whatever the cause or level of persecution, it will occur as followers of Jesus seek to share His message to the ends of the earth. And often, we will discover that persecution can lead to growth in the life of the Church.
26 mins
Episode 04 - Africa
By 2050, half the world’s population growth is projected to occur in Africa. The presence of Christian believers on the African continent stretches right back to within mere decades of Jesus’ life. Ethiopia was likely the first region to have a native Jesus-follower. Missionaries from the northern half of the globe risked health, left family and gave their lives to share the Good News of Jesus with the African south. Now, African Christians are beginning to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth in post-Christian Europe and beyond.
26 mins
Episode 05 - Ireland
Early in the 5th century, a teenage boy named Patrick arrived in Ireland. The son of a Christian in Britain, he was the victim of human trafficking. Enslaved for around six years he finally escaped back to England. Nearly twenty years later, he came back as a missionary, determined to carry the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth in Ireland. So began a remarkable 400 year period in the history of Christianity in Europe.
26 mins
Episode 06 - Europe
During the 6th - 10th centuries AD, monks bravely carried the Christian message to what was then ‘pagan’ Europe - Scotland, England, France, Germany, Scandinavia. They did so in the face of great physical danger, both natural and human-made. Whether facing Viking attacks on their monasteries, or confronting pagan religious powers, they gave birth to vibrant, transformational, reproducing Christian communities across the western European continent.
26 mins
Episode 07 - The Jesuits
The 16th century was a time of enormous religious turmoil in Europe. Two mighty forces strove for domination: the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter Reformation. Out of the latter emerged a converted, brave, aristocratic soldier-turned-missionary, Ignatius of Loyola who birthed a movement that took the Gospel beyond the protective boundaries of Christian Europe, to places as far flung as India, China and Japan.
26 mins
Episode 08 - China
Christians have existed in China since the mid-600s AD. This far eastern nation has been repeatedly visited by a diversity of courageous, missionary-minded believers. China, today, is the world’s most populous nation. It is also, according to Open Doors, the twenty-seventh most difficult place in the world to be a Christian. Yet the number of Jesus’ followers there is growing steadily. This Church, having received its Christianity from the West, is now continuing the Church’s mission back towards the West. Today, Chinese Christians are heeding the call of Jesus to take His Word to the ends of the earth.
26 mins
Episode 09 - The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation of the Church was so-called, because a brilliant and courageous German scholar and monk called Martin Luther “protested” against certain aspects of medieval Church practices. This protest by a single monk eventually spawned vibrant new Christian movements and denominations, which further helped to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
26 mins
Episode 10 - Bible Translation
In their desire to communicate the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth, Christians began to translate the Bible into the languages of the people with whom they shared that message. This pattern repeated itself across the history of the Church. Today the Bible, or part of it, has been translated into around 2900 languages. The importance of this has been that over the last two thousand years, and across multiple cultures, people from around the globe have been able to hear and respond to the message of Jesus in their heart language.
26 mins
Episode 11 - Japan and Korea
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” So said Tertullian, one of the second century Christian apologists. In many ways this applied to the first Christian believers in both Japan and Korea. For over 200 years brutal persecution by the Japanese rulers sought to erase all Christian believers in Japan. A similar narrative unfolded in Korea. Korean rulers also sought to crush the growing Church. Thousands died for their faith in Christ but now thirty percent of the country claim to be Christian. Korean Christians are now intentionally taking the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth. It’s a fascinating story of similarity and contrast.
26 mins
Episode 12 - America
The arrival in 1620 of the Mayflower brought Christians from England whose primary motivation was a yearning for religious liberty, not a craving for wealth. In doing so, they steeled the backbone of the thirteen colonies that first formed the “United States of America.” That sturdy, resounding drive for religious liberty played a significant role in moulding the American constitution. Founding Fathers of the nation believed that faith was vital for freedom. Fuelled by such convictions, the United States became a seedbed for democracy, self-determination, generosity and Christian mission across the globe.
26 mins
Episode 13 - 20th Century Mission
The Church in the West has weakened. The gravitational centre of Christian populations now thrums with energy south and east of the equator. Furthermore, the urbanisation of the world population has resulted in megacities blooming, into which pour people from every “nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9). One result is that mission no longer flows from north to south and west to east. Missionaries from the South and East are coming to the West with the Good News of Jesus.
26 mins
This is a 13-part documentary about how the gospel went from a small group of followers in the backwaters of the Roman Empire to become a global faith in the 20th century. How did the Gospel spread? Why? And who risked danger, persecution and death to fulfill Jesus’ last words in Acts 1:8?
Alexander Chow
Alexander Chow is the Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. He was raised in South Carolina in the United States before obtaining his doctorate in theology from the University of Birmingham. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Renmin University in China, where he also researched Chinese Christianity and taught at the School of Liberal Arts. Alexander has written a number of articles and books on Christianity in China, and more broadly, East Asia.
Benjamin Hasselhorn
Benjamin Hasselhorn is a Protestant theologian and historian. He obtained his doctorate in theology from the Humboldt University in Berlin. He has been a researcher at the Luther Memorials in Saxony-Anhalt and curator of the National Special Exhibition in 2017. Benjamin has written and edited numerous articles and essays on Luther and the Reformation, among other historical subjects.
Billy Kim
Billy Kim is a prominent Christian evangelist and humanitarian. As a young boy during the Korean War, Billy was working as a house-boy for one of the American soldiers, who helped him get an education in the United States. From there, Billy gave his life to Christ, and eventually returned to Korea to evangelise to his family and friends. Billy was a pastor for many years and is now the chairman for the Far East Broadcasting Company. He has spoken at countless churches, conferences and events, including translating for Dr Billy Graham during the 1973 South Korean Crusade. He has also released his autobiography, ‘The Life of Billy Kim: From Houseboy to World Evangelist’.
Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley is Professor of World Christianity and Director for the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He obtained his PHD from the University of Cambridge, and has taught in theological colleges in London, Bristol and Cambridge, before joining the faculty of the Univeristy of Edinburgh in 2009. He has written a number of books including, ‘Christianity in the Twentieth Century: A World History’.
Chris Lowney
Chris Lowney is an author, public speaker and leadership consultant. He completed his masters in a Jesuit Seminary before joining JP Morgan where he was first an investment banker and then a managing director. He has authored numerous books, including, ‘Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from the 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World,’ which outlines leadership insights and qualities from Jesuit, Ignatius Loyola’s spiritual practices. Chris also delivers talks regularly and has done so in countries all across the world.
Craig Keener
Craig Keener is the F.M and Ada Thompson Professor of the New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. He holds a PHD from Duke University and is known for his commentaries on contextualising the New Testament in its early Jewish and Greco-Roman setting. He has authored numerous books and journals and has taught in every continent except Antarctica. Craig’s wife Medine was a Congolese refugee during the Second Congo War, and their amazing story is told in Impossible Love: The True Story of an African Civil War, Miracles and Hope Against All Odds.
Dana Robert
Dana Robert is a historian of Christianity and a missiologist. She has been the Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission, as well as the director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University since 1984. She has written several books and papers, including, ‘Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion’.
Daryl Ireland
Daryl Ireland is the Associate Director of the Centre for Global Christianity and Mission, and a Research Assistant Professor of Mission at Boston University. He is also an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. Daryl’s research interests centre around Christianity in East Asia, particularly revitilisation movements in China and Southeast Asia.
Destaw Arage
Destaw Arage is the manager, founder and owner of Desta Tours in Lalibela, Ethiopia. He studied tourism in Addis Ababa and also works closely with the Lalibela Argo Plantation Project which helps stop erosion in the mountains around Lalibela.
Ed Stetzer
Ed Stetzer is the Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, and holds the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission and Evangelism. He is also a church planter, missiologist and pastor. He has written a number of books and articles on church growth and planting, and continues to train pastors. He is a contributing editor for Christianity Today, a columnist for Outreach Magazine, and co-hosts the radio program Breakpoint This Week. Ed currently serves as the interim pastor for Moody Church in Chicago.
Eddie Arthur
Having worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators for many years on the Ivory Coast in Africa, and translating the Bible into the local language there, Eddie is now studying how the theology of mission agencies affects the work they do. He also works with Wycliffe and other mission agencies and churches, in thinking through the best way to engage in mission in a changing world.
Emma Wildwood
Emma Wildwood is a Senior Lecturer and PHD supervisor at the University of Edinburgh. She has previously held positions at the University of Cambridge, and taught in DR Congo and Uganda for many years. Her particular research area is religious encounters in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Christian conversion and the growth of mission-initiated denominations between 1800 and the present day.
Eric Metaxas
Eric Metaxas is a radio host and bestselling author of Bonhoeffer, Miracles, and Amazing Grace, among others. He has written more than thirty children’s books, including the bestsellers Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving and It’s Time to Sleep, My Love. In the realm of media for children, Eric was also editorial director for Rabbit Ears Productions, and worked as a writer for VeggieTales. Eric is the host of the Eric Metaxas Show, a nationally syndicated radio program heard in more than 120 cities around the US. He is the founder and host of Socrates in the City: Conversations on the Examined Life, an event series of entertaining and thought-provoking discussions on 'life, God, and other small topics,' featuring a wide array of luminaries. Metaxas is a respected cultural commentator on religious issues, and in 2011 was the 17th recipient of the Canterbury Medal awarded by the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom.
Ermias Mamo
Ermias Mamo is the Deputy General Secretary of the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church. Born and raised in rural Ethiopia, Ermias attended first the Evangelical Theology College in Addis Ababa, and then obtained his doctorate from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. He has lectured in missions for many years and has written the book, ‘The Maturing Church: An Integrated Approach to Contextualisation, Discipleship and Mission’.
Gareth Williams
Gareth Williams has been a curator at the British Museum in London since 1996, specialising in Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage. His work and research with this coinage is used as evidence in broader historical and archeological studies. He has published extensively on Anglo-Saxon and Viking history and archaeology, and also lectures in this area.
Hassan John
Hassan John is a Canon of the Anglican Diocese of Jos. He is the vicar of the Trinity Church in Jos, and holds a Doctor of Divinity. As a trained journalist, Hassan has been reporting the radical Islamic terrorist Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria, since 2010, and subsequent Islamic Fulani herdsmen militia attacks on Christian communities. He led the CNN team of reporters to break the story of the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram to the world. Hassan has also trained over 300 pastors and church workers in apologetics.
Hoon Ko
Hoon Ko is a PhD candidate in intercultural studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. His research areas include how Korean protestant preachers contributed to national revival from 1884 to 1919. He co-authored the article, ‘Who Brought the Gospel to Korea? Koreans Did’, with his PhD supervisor, Dr Kirsteen Kim.
Israel Olofinjana
Israel Olofinjana is an ordained Baptist minister and the pastor of Woolwich Central Baptist Church in London. He is the founding director of Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, an initiative designed to prepare, equip and encourage missionaries from the Majority World in Britain.He has authored and edited a number of books, including ‘African Voices: Towards African British Theologies’, and speaks at conferences, seminars and universities around the world.
Jamie Taylor
Jamie Taylor is the Executive Consultant for Chinese Ministries at the Overseas Missions Fellowship, an organisation first founded by his great-great-grandfather, Hudson Taylor. Jamie has a Masters in Divinity and a Doctorate of Ministry.
Jay Milbrandt
Jay Milbrandt is an author, lawyer and professor in Minnesota, US. Jay has travelled throughout the world as a human rights lawyer, managing global initiatives in Africa and South East Asia, and consulting with organizations engaged in human rights and legal development efforts. His written works include a biography of David Livingstone, ‘The Daring Heart of David Livingstone: Exile, African Slavery and the Publicity Stunt that Saved Millions’, and ‘They Came For Freedom: The Forgotten, Epic Adventure of the Pilgrims’.
Jerry Pattengale
Jerry Pattengale is a scholar, researcher, author and speaker, and is the University Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University. He was one of two founding scholars and leaders of the Museum of the Bible, which opened in Washington, DC in 2017, and he was the museum’s Executive Director of Education until 2018. He obtained his doctorate from Miami University, has authored numerous books and his articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Christianity Today and the Chicago Tribune among other publications.
Jessie Fubara-Manuel
Jessie Fubara-Manuel is an ordained Elder of the Presbyterian Church in Nigeria, as well as a human resource/training consultant working for economic and gender justice, especially for people with disabilities. She works with church leaders in Nigeria and delivers training and seminars to theologians on the topic of church competency in response to HIV issues. Her book, ‘Giver of Life, Hear our Cries’, assumes the voice of African women, and tells of the joys, pains and systematic evils they battle daily.
Joe Turner
A former Belfast loyalist, Joe encountered God whilst in prison and turned his life radically around. He now runs a church in East Belfast, and is actively working in prisons, bringing the message of God to those who need it most.
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Franklin was born and raised in Papua New Guinea, where his parents worked as Bible translation missionaries. He started working with Wycliffe 35 years ago, and took on the role of Executive Director of Wycliffe Global Alliance in 2008. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and has authored the book, ‘Towards Global Missional Leadership’, as well as a number of journal articles about missiology and leadership.
Kirsteen Kim
Kirsteen Kim is a professor of Theology and World Christianity, as well as the Associate Dean for the Center for Missiological Research, at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. Prior to this role, she taught at Leeds Trinity University, and obtained her doctorate from the University of Birmingham. Kirsteen began her theological education career in South Korea, teaching English Bible study and cross-cultural skills. She has been a part of over 100 publications, including, ‘A History of Korean Christianity’, which is co-authored with her husband, Sebastian Kim.
Lynn Cohick
Lynn Cohick is the Provost Dean at Denver Seminary in Colorado. She is a professor, teacher and speaker, and has taught in numerous cities and countries, including Australia and Kenya. Lynn received her PHD in New Testament and Christian Origins from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Her written works include ‘Christian Women in the Patristic World’, and a commentary on the book of the Bible, Phillipians.
Man-hei Yip
Man-hei Yip is a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Visiting Researcher at Boston University. She also teaches online at Wartburg Theological Seminary, in global Christologies. She obtained her doctorate in Theology of Mission from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
Marcus Losack
Marcus Losack is an Anglican priest, who has worked in Ireland, the UK, Jerusalem and Libya, where he led pilgrimages to the sites of the early desert fathers. He has led many Irish pilgrimages in Celtic spirituality, and is also the author of numerous books including, ‘Rediscovering Saint Patrick: A New Theory of Origins’.
Mark Mullins
Mark Mullins is a professor of Japanese Studies, and the Director of the Japan Studies Centre at the University of Auckland. He previously lived in Japan and was engaged in academic work there for 27 years, teaching in universities. He obtained his doctorate from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and his research focus is on Japanese religions in modern society, both in and outside of Japan. Mark has authored, edited and co-edited numerous research works on this subject.
Mark Noll
Mark Noll is a leading historian, specialising in the history of Christianity in the United States. He holds the position of Research Professor of History at Regent College, and has taught courses throughout the United States on American religious history, world Christianity, Reformation theology, Puritanism, historiography, 19th century British evangelicalism, and American intellectual history. Among his many books is the insightful, ‘Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity’.
Marziyeh Amirizadeh & Maryam Rostampour
Marziyeh and Maryam are authors and speakers, sharing their incredible testimony of faith through trial and persecution. Born in Iran into a Muslim society, Marziyeh and Maryam were separately seeking for religious truth which they found in Jesus Christ, and converted to Christianity. Their book ‘Captive in Iran’, tells of how they were arrested for this faith, their experiences in Evin Prison and how God used them as His light in the darkest of places.
Michael Bird
Michael Bird is a theologian and New Testament Scholar. He is the Academic Dean and a lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.. He has written and edited over thirty books in the areas of Historical Jesus, the Gospels, St Paul and Biblical Theology. His book, ‘Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction’, is an attempt to develop a truly gospel-based theology that promotes the advance of the gospel in Christian life and thought.
Mike Gore
Mike Gore currently serves as the CEO for Open Doors Australia and Open Doors New Zealand, a role he took on in 2015, after joining the company as Youth Manager in 2009. Mike’s passion for sharing stories of the church living in persecution with Christians in Australia and New Zealand sees him regularly writing articles and speaking in churches around this topic.
Neil Robinson
Neil Robinson is the Library and Research Manager at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. He is a cricket writer and is the author of, ‘Long Shot Summer: The Year of Four England Cricket Captains 1988’.
Nii Amoo Darku
Rev Nii Amoo Darku is a retired senior pastor of the Baptist Church. He previously served as Senior Vice President of the Ghana Baptist Convention. He currently serves as the Board Chairman for African Enterprise, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for other organisations.
Opoku Onyinah
Opoku Onyinah is an Apostle of the Church of Pentecost, a theologian and minister. He was the chairman of the Church of Pentecost, in Accra, Ghana, for 10 years from 2008 to 2018. He studied theology in England and obtained his doctorate in theology from the University of Birmingham. He is an associate professor at the Pentecost University College, and has written numerous academic publications.
Os Guinness
Os Guinness is an author and social critic. Born in 1941 in China, to medical missionaries, he completed his schooling in England and obtained his doctor of philosophy from Oriel college in Oxford. He has written or edited over 30 books that offer valuable insight into the cultural, political, and social contexts in which we all live, including the new, ‘Carpe Diem Redeemed: Seizing the Day, Discerning the Times’. Os also continues to speak at universities, and political and business conferences around the world.
Paul Yokota
Paul Yokota is the pastor of the Fukuoka Church of Jesus Christ Church, in Fukuoka, Japan, since 2003. He also serves as a lecturer at the Kansai Bible College and is one of the presidents of the Kyushu Christ Disaster Relief Centre, which lends aid following natural disasters. Paul graduated from the Tokyo Biblical Seminary, and obtained his doctorate in the field of New Testament from St Andrew’s Graduate School in England. He has also contributed to the collected essays, ‘Struggles for Shalom: Peace and Violence Across the Testaments’.
Rigwell Ato Addison
Apostle Addison is retired from the role of General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost in Accra, Ghana. He is an Apostle of the Church of Pentecost and still plays a large role, being the area head for their Teshie-Nungua region and being on the board of Trustees. He is also on the board for the Christian Leadership Foundation in Accra.
Robert Woodbury
Robert Woodberry is a sociologist and senior research professor at Baylor University in Texas, with a doctorate from the University of North Carolina. He specialises in the impact of religion on political development and economic change. His award-winning article, ‘The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy,’ analyses his research into the long-term social, political and economic impact of Protestant missionary activity in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Sung-young Kim
Dr. Sung-young Kim is an Honorary Director of the Taejon Christian International School in Daejeon, South Korea. He is the former president of Sunggyul “Holiness” University in Seoul and has written books on both the coming of the Gospel and the history of Christianity in Korea.
Takashi Fukuda
After reading the article, ‘Two Thousand Tongues To Go’, in a Japanese translation of Reader’s Digest, Takashi contacted Wycliffe United States, wanting to join in their work. In 1966 Takashi and a colleague formed the Japan Bible Translation Fellowship which would eventually become Wycliffe Japan. Takashi, his wife and two small children journeyed to a remote village in the Philippines, where they spent 12 years translating books of the Bible into the local language, as well as producing Christian songbooks, health booklets and a dictionary. They also helped to establish a local high school.
Tefera Endalew
Tefera Endalew was born in rural Ethiopia, in a remote village. He first encountered the Christian message when a German Wycliffe missionary came to his village to translate the Bible. He and 14 other new converts started the first church in that village, and went on to other nearby villages, preaching the Gospel. In time, he saw 95% of the people in his home village become Christians. After training with Wycliffe himself, and starting schools in and around his home village, Tefera was able to form Wycliffe Ethiopia, of which he is now the director.
Tim Kesicki
Father Tim Kesicki became a Jesuit novitiate in 1984, and is now the director of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. His formation as a Jesuit included studies in philosophy, theology and educational administration over a ten year period. Ordained in 1994, Tim worked and taught in high schools around the United States, as well as spending a year at the Jesuit Refugee Service in Uganda. He frequently contributes articles to CNN and MSNBC.
Tom Holland
Tom Holland is an historian in classical antiquity and an author of numerous award-winning books including Rubcion: The Triumph and the Tragedy of the Roman Republic. He shares his expertise as a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Making History and has written and presented a number of television documentaries, on various subjects. Tom served two years as the Chair of the Society of Authors and is currently the Chair of the British Library’s PLR Advisory Committee.