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32 Christians Who Changed Their World
The Christian faith is a call to adventure. Be inspired by these thirty-two saints and give thanks for their faithful stories. Now go and do likewise where God has put you.For two thousand years, average Christians have been transforming culture, and this collection of stories by Dr. Glenn Sunshine tells some of those stories. Men like Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon laid the foundations for science. Political figures like Abba Enbaqom and Sorghaghtani Beki (daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan) promoted Christianity in societies hostile to it. Christians like Roque González and Solomon Plaatje opposed racial oppression, and heroes like Andre Trocme and Ho Fengshan helped Jews escape the Holocaust.
These men and women all have stories that show how broad and transformative the Christian faith really has been on the world. Learn these stories and be like them.
“[These Christians] worked across various cultural spheres as if Christian truth mattered as much there as in any church. They sought to educate because they believed God is truth. They sought to liberate, because they knew every person bears God’s image and that truth sets us free. They sought to create, because in creating we worship the Creator. They sought to alleviate suffering, because God had, originally, created the world good. They fought injustice because God is just and wants justice in His world. They lived as if Christ is King, because they knew He is.” ~from John Stonestreet's preface
These men and women all have stories that show how broad and transformative the Christian faith really has been on the world. Learn these stories and be like them.
“[These Christians] worked across various cultural spheres as if Christian truth mattered as much there as in any church. They sought to educate because they believed God is truth. They sought to liberate, because they knew every person bears God’s image and that truth sets us free. They sought to create, because in creating we worship the Creator. They sought to alleviate suffering, because God had, originally, created the world good. They fought injustice because God is just and wants justice in His world. They lived as if Christ is King, because they knew He is.” ~from John Stonestreet's preface
242 pages, Hardcover
Published April 4, 2023
38 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 8, 2024
Enjoyable.
October 8, 2023
I read these stories aloud to my children. Each chapter is a unique figure, sometimes obscure, but always faithful to the Gospel. I appreciated the number of Christians featured who are from the East and Africa.
July 26, 2025
Dr. Sunshine’s work on this collection is so important. As I was reading, I’d think, “How have I never heard of this person before?!” I was only familiar with a few of the figures written about, and I can hardly believe that such influential people have been largely forgotten in our study of history. This book is a blessing, encouraging believers to live faithfully in the place God has put them. It has done so for me! Knowing that Christ is King changes everything.
June 13, 2024
Couldn’t put it down! Glenn Sunshine has created a brilliant work, weaving together seemingly unrelated stories of lesser known faithful brothers and sisters in Christ throughout history with a common thread of persevering through persecution, obstacles, and threats of death or violence to carry on kingdom work all over the world. Their small steps of obedience laid the groundwork for many of those we often think of who have notably changed the world (Charlemagne, William Wilberforce, America’s founding fathers, etc.) and yet, they faithfully did the work God called them to do, causing an incredible ripple effect that changed history. Each story was an inspiring reminder that we are individually called to a specific time and place in history to do what God has called us uniquely to do for His glory.
I highly recommend this book!!
I highly recommend this book!!
December 8, 2024
Great brief biographies about many extraordinary ordinary people throughout the world who "made a difference."
November 1, 2024
Good, I think. Maybe I was distracted when I listened to it several months ago but I can hardly remember a thing about this book.
December 29, 2024
Very enjoyable. A collection of narratives and mini-biographies (10 minutes or less) of many of the otherwise unheard of heroes of Christendom who were faithful with little, and God blessed their efforts. I especially liked the focus on regions that are not necessarily talked about as much in your typical history class, and how much impact these Christians actually had is extremely encouraging, whether it be standing up to injustice, starting Christian institutions in heathen lands, or simply preaching the Gospel to their neighbor. Each chapter ends with an exhortation to modern Christians on how we, too, can be faithful and glorify Him where He has placed us. Listened to the audiobook on Canon+.
January 19, 2024
Such a Fresh and Encouraging Read
This anthology of little biographies of amazing Christians is great, and it’s great for reasons that don’t immediately seem obvious.
1) it’s great because these biographies are brief and concise, rather than lengthy and exhaustive. Of course this means lots of information has to be left out, but it also means we get straight to the gold nuggets and the highlights and most influential or important aspects of the person’s life. The brevity of these snapshots also leads really well into practical application, as Sunshine distills the essence of their life and work into a few immensely practical sentences, ideas, or thoughts normally at the end of each essay.
2) This book is about Christian’s you’ve almost certainly never heard about. With the exception of probably William Carey for many Christians, this book is full to the brim of stories from people you have never heard of even once. This is one of its strongest strengths for several reasons. First it introduces you to some new, albeit hidden, giants of the faith and, who knows, you just might discover a new spiritual hero. But it definitely enlargens our field of vision to know more incredible Christians. Second, seeing as they are unknown, most of these Christians aren’t very prominent figures, they aren’t mega pastors, they haven’t written 900+ page theology books, they are, in a sense ,obscure for a reason, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t influential or important. It means that most of them were really ordinary people, not historic celebrities, despite the reality that will become quite clear to you as you read that many of them truly should be historic celebrities recognized by everyone the world over. Some of these individuals are truly amazing, but they were still ordinary people, many of them were never in any formal sense “ministry people” most of them were normal, run-of-the-mill Christian’s engaged in ordinary life albeit with an “all of Christ for all of life” attitude that drove them to greatness. This might be single greatest blessing of this book, it focuses on God’s immense penchant to use the weak, the down, the insignificant of the world, the common place, to enact the most significant, uncommon, world exploding things. It’s a testament to God’s proclivity to use an ordinary Christian like you to do the very types of things described in this books.
3) Sunshine doesn’t shy away from the facts, including the ugly ones, and particularly the theologically divisive ones. Sunshine simply lays out the facts, and never once tries to eulogize any of his subjects, did they capitulate here, believe false doctrine there, or get divorced later? Sunshine will tell you and he won’t gloss over it. But also he won’t necessarily offer any judgment on it either, he’ll simply state it as the matter of the fact of the story. This humanises the stories, it goes again to reinforce the point of the book that these people are like you, and you are like them, and God can, does, use ordinary folks like you, warts and all. It highlights the fact that moral failing, sometimes even huge moral failures in your past, do not bar you from being used by God, and normal human weaknesses and proclivities definitely do not exclude you from the call to small faithfulness that God can multiply into great fruitfulness.
I also found it interesting how ecumenical Sunshine was in his choice of biographies to tell, there are some stories about Catholics, Nestorians, and other theologically distinct Christian groups/sects that I know Sunshine, as a reformed Christian would disagree sharply with. But that didn’t stop him from recognizing how God used these people to transform the world. This is not an endorsement of their theology, it is an endorsement of their God who loves to draw straight lines with crooked sticks. This isn’t a call to emulate them, but it is a call to look at those we differ with theologically in a slightly different light, they are not always the enemy, despite being wrong, and they are not beyond God’s ability to use. And it further emphasizes the significance of the Christian’s worldview and the impact it can have on the world even when it is marred or incomplete due to faulty theology, the Christian worldview even when injured or sometimes broken, is what has brought every good in this world, Christian’s and their world view are at the root of literally every social good, not secularism, never secularism, and that shines clearly here.
Everywhere you go, if something good is happening, it will be Christian at its roots, it might not be perfectly Christian, completely orthodox, but it will be distinctly, fundamentally, Christian at origin. This is also a warning to us theologically orthodox types tho that the kind of world change and Christian influence we want to see in the world, surprisingly doesn’t only come from pure, orthodox Christian sources, sometimes it comes from truly corrupt and compromised Christian sources and we have to deal with it!
This anthology of little biographies of amazing Christians is great, and it’s great for reasons that don’t immediately seem obvious.
1) it’s great because these biographies are brief and concise, rather than lengthy and exhaustive. Of course this means lots of information has to be left out, but it also means we get straight to the gold nuggets and the highlights and most influential or important aspects of the person’s life. The brevity of these snapshots also leads really well into practical application, as Sunshine distills the essence of their life and work into a few immensely practical sentences, ideas, or thoughts normally at the end of each essay.
2) This book is about Christian’s you’ve almost certainly never heard about. With the exception of probably William Carey for many Christians, this book is full to the brim of stories from people you have never heard of even once. This is one of its strongest strengths for several reasons. First it introduces you to some new, albeit hidden, giants of the faith and, who knows, you just might discover a new spiritual hero. But it definitely enlargens our field of vision to know more incredible Christians. Second, seeing as they are unknown, most of these Christians aren’t very prominent figures, they aren’t mega pastors, they haven’t written 900+ page theology books, they are, in a sense ,obscure for a reason, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t influential or important. It means that most of them were really ordinary people, not historic celebrities, despite the reality that will become quite clear to you as you read that many of them truly should be historic celebrities recognized by everyone the world over. Some of these individuals are truly amazing, but they were still ordinary people, many of them were never in any formal sense “ministry people” most of them were normal, run-of-the-mill Christian’s engaged in ordinary life albeit with an “all of Christ for all of life” attitude that drove them to greatness. This might be single greatest blessing of this book, it focuses on God’s immense penchant to use the weak, the down, the insignificant of the world, the common place, to enact the most significant, uncommon, world exploding things. It’s a testament to God’s proclivity to use an ordinary Christian like you to do the very types of things described in this books.
3) Sunshine doesn’t shy away from the facts, including the ugly ones, and particularly the theologically divisive ones. Sunshine simply lays out the facts, and never once tries to eulogize any of his subjects, did they capitulate here, believe false doctrine there, or get divorced later? Sunshine will tell you and he won’t gloss over it. But also he won’t necessarily offer any judgment on it either, he’ll simply state it as the matter of the fact of the story. This humanises the stories, it goes again to reinforce the point of the book that these people are like you, and you are like them, and God can, does, use ordinary folks like you, warts and all. It highlights the fact that moral failing, sometimes even huge moral failures in your past, do not bar you from being used by God, and normal human weaknesses and proclivities definitely do not exclude you from the call to small faithfulness that God can multiply into great fruitfulness.
I also found it interesting how ecumenical Sunshine was in his choice of biographies to tell, there are some stories about Catholics, Nestorians, and other theologically distinct Christian groups/sects that I know Sunshine, as a reformed Christian would disagree sharply with. But that didn’t stop him from recognizing how God used these people to transform the world. This is not an endorsement of their theology, it is an endorsement of their God who loves to draw straight lines with crooked sticks. This isn’t a call to emulate them, but it is a call to look at those we differ with theologically in a slightly different light, they are not always the enemy, despite being wrong, and they are not beyond God’s ability to use. And it further emphasizes the significance of the Christian’s worldview and the impact it can have on the world even when it is marred or incomplete due to faulty theology, the Christian worldview even when injured or sometimes broken, is what has brought every good in this world, Christian’s and their world view are at the root of literally every social good, not secularism, never secularism, and that shines clearly here.
Everywhere you go, if something good is happening, it will be Christian at its roots, it might not be perfectly Christian, completely orthodox, but it will be distinctly, fundamentally, Christian at origin. This is also a warning to us theologically orthodox types tho that the kind of world change and Christian influence we want to see in the world, surprisingly doesn’t only come from pure, orthodox Christian sources, sometimes it comes from truly corrupt and compromised Christian sources and we have to deal with it!
January 5, 2024
This book is meant to introduce Christians to the breadth--historical and geographical-- of the Christian experience, as it highlights the lives of 34 individuals (two chapters do double duty), presented chronologically. It intentionally is not Eurocentric, and the lives are frequently leveraged beyond mere biography as keys illustrating aspects of Christian history and culture. That is to say, the chapters are "The life and times" of said individuals. There are four brief introductions for "Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages," "The Central Middle Ages," "The Reformation Era," and "Modern Times."
Think of this book as a series of starting points for further research and reflection. It will make a valuable supplement to your family time if you are looking to talk and think more about church history and what it means to live out one's faith.
Among the collection of saints are 8 women & 26 men. These include former slaves both African and European, ethnic backgrounds including Arab; Axumite, Zagwe, and Ethiopian; Chinese; Huguenot pacifist; Indian; Japanese; Nestorian Mongol, and religious affiliations such as AME, Baptist, Jesuit, Lutheran, Wesleyan, and probably most notably, significant bandwidth for individuals from the Oriental Orthodox traditions--Sunshine's view of "Christian" is creditably expansive, and doesn't snag at the Catholic-Protestant line, or even at the Council of Ephesus. Major themes include science and education, as well as opposition to slavery and to the holocaust. Sunshine wants to show Christians going about many callings, not just evangelism or politics.
Some of the early chapters--for instance the Viking chapters on Leif Erikson and Gudrid the Far Traveler--were rather Spartan on personal faith details. Though supplemented with interesting historical facts, at times the Christian aspect seemed a bit thin. This became less of an issue in the later chapters, in correspondence with the better-documented lives of people such as Geert Groote and William Carey. My chief complaint about the book is my desire to see more depth, and more sources besides the chiefly handful of articles listed for further information. At the same time, I understand this book is targeting a general audience and he is trying to keep it brief.
John Stonestreet is the reason I heard of this book.
Think of this book as a series of starting points for further research and reflection. It will make a valuable supplement to your family time if you are looking to talk and think more about church history and what it means to live out one's faith.
Among the collection of saints are 8 women & 26 men. These include former slaves both African and European, ethnic backgrounds including Arab; Axumite, Zagwe, and Ethiopian; Chinese; Huguenot pacifist; Indian; Japanese; Nestorian Mongol, and religious affiliations such as AME, Baptist, Jesuit, Lutheran, Wesleyan, and probably most notably, significant bandwidth for individuals from the Oriental Orthodox traditions--Sunshine's view of "Christian" is creditably expansive, and doesn't snag at the Catholic-Protestant line, or even at the Council of Ephesus. Major themes include science and education, as well as opposition to slavery and to the holocaust. Sunshine wants to show Christians going about many callings, not just evangelism or politics.
Some of the early chapters--for instance the Viking chapters on Leif Erikson and Gudrid the Far Traveler--were rather Spartan on personal faith details. Though supplemented with interesting historical facts, at times the Christian aspect seemed a bit thin. This became less of an issue in the later chapters, in correspondence with the better-documented lives of people such as Geert Groote and William Carey. My chief complaint about the book is my desire to see more depth, and more sources besides the chiefly handful of articles listed for further information. At the same time, I understand this book is targeting a general audience and he is trying to keep it brief.
John Stonestreet is the reason I heard of this book.
May 16, 2024
Good. It is important to recognize that the majority of those whom Christ has used in the greatest ways and who have made the biggest impact on this world are those whom you and I have never even heard about. The most faithful pastors and missionaries are those pastors and missionaries who have given their life to their local flock and mission field and received little to no human recognition.
What Sunshine does here is to help turn our minds to some of these pious and faithful men and women who are generally overlooked or unknown, and to show us how Christ has used them to further His kingdom. It is as Francis Schaeffer wrote that there are no little people in the kingdom of God.
What Sunshine does here is to help turn our minds to some of these pious and faithful men and women who are generally overlooked or unknown, and to show us how Christ has used them to further His kingdom. It is as Francis Schaeffer wrote that there are no little people in the kingdom of God.
April 27, 2023
This was a fantastic book! Sunshine tells the stories of 32 Christians who were faithful in their context and impacted the world. Some are famous, and some are not. But, we need to remember all of them, and be inspired by their examples! I especially appreciated Sunshine's inclusion of a wide range of biographies: women, Africans, Asians, medieval mystics, etc. It helps to display the fullness of the grand story that God is writing through the faithful labors of His people throughout time and history.
August 8, 2023
Broad spectrum of information undiluted
The information is quite overwhelming but also eye opening. I doubted some of the facts because of lack of sources but it seems sound and i appreciate the confirmation that all people are from clay and the delight of our God and maker is mercy,justice and kindness. These people didn't let their gifts go to their heads. It went to their hearts. Like Paul said: "knowledge puffs up but love builds up". Thank you for your effort in putting all this together.
The information is quite overwhelming but also eye opening. I doubted some of the facts because of lack of sources but it seems sound and i appreciate the confirmation that all people are from clay and the delight of our God and maker is mercy,justice and kindness. These people didn't let their gifts go to their heads. It went to their hearts. Like Paul said: "knowledge puffs up but love builds up". Thank you for your effort in putting all this together.
February 24, 2024
Introduction to true influencers
I am amazed at the impact one faithful person can have by simply living out their faith in our glorious God. Most of the people introduced in the book were new to me. It is a good reminder that, though the world may forget many of us, God still knows each of his children by name! I recommend this book as a great resource to inspire and encourage any Christian.
I am amazed at the impact one faithful person can have by simply living out their faith in our glorious God. Most of the people introduced in the book were new to me. It is a good reminder that, though the world may forget many of us, God still knows each of his children by name! I recommend this book as a great resource to inspire and encourage any Christian.
April 13, 2023
This is a collection of short but fascinating bio sketches of different Christians who have done various remarkable things as a result of their faith. I was only familiar with a few and believe the real value of this book is the inclusion of much less well-known individuals from all over the world.
October 27, 2023
I enjoy history, and I enjoy biography. This was a good choice for me! Unlike other compilations of short biographies, this one focused on many people I was not familiar with. Many of the lives written of worked across different cultures as a reminder that the church is universal. It's not an American or European thing. And "they lived as if Christ is King, because they knew He is."
June 28, 2025
Excellent variety of sketches of mostly forgotten or overlooked impactful Christians. Sunshine does an admirable job pulling from the rich panoply of history, showing the full mosaic of eras, regions, sex & race, and (for lack of a better word) denominations. This is perhaps an over-focus on educators and a head-scratching close with 3 of the final 4 bios being Schindler's List type stories.
September 10, 2024
Really good. I enjoy Dr. Sunshine's writing style. He writes like he speaks. I also like that he chose to write about people who are not otherwise famous to put this book together. It made the accounts relatable to me. I'm glad I read this book.
December 18, 2024
Enjoyed the variety of Christians and brevity of each chapter. Every chapter is a different biography and they are in chronological order which was helpful. Encouraging to see all of the ways God uses his people.
May 27, 2023
Very uplifting and inspiring. It was a super easy read as the chapters are short. Highly recommend!
June 6, 2023
Beautiful examples of everyday faithfulness -- be irreverent to the darkness!
September 19, 2023
Interesting people who helped shape our world and did God’s work in a variety of ways.
May 14, 2024
Some old friends, some new acquaintances. Martin Rinkart was my favorite on the new side.
June 24, 2024
Very worthwhile - you’d never imagine rippling impact some of these individuals have had. I came away with several favorites I’ll refer back to.
July 18, 2024
Fascinating to learn about the heroic lives of many Christians of whom I had never learned. Praise God for their faithful work for His namesake!
August 27, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed the audio book. The book is well researched, very informative. It made me feel grateful to have been born in the 20th Century where I can worship God freely!
October 29, 2024
I really enjoyed how G. Sunshine tied this all together - giving summaries of the historical eras before introducing the biographies so that the reader may better understand the world at that time.
August 31, 2025
Great stories of typically unknown Christians and how they served the Lord.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews