Journey Through Church History: Student Book

by Christa Petzold

This engaging student book teaches school-age children about the history of the Christian Church from a Lutheran perspective. ​​​​​​​Written by Christa Petzold, pastor's wife, homeschool mom, and high school theology teacher, this book teaches about several church fathers and answers questions about the Bible, Creeds, divides in the Church, liturgy, and the Reformation. Homeschool and day-school students alike will enjoy their time with this book.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 18, 2024

About the author

Christa Petzold is a pastor’s wife and stay-at-home mother of four. Her passion is writing fiction and nonfiction that highlights the love of Christ for His Bride, the Church. She holds a master’s degree in Theology from Concordia University Irvine, a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Lutheran Secondary Education from Concordia University Wisconsin, and is currently pursuing a PhD in History of Exegesis through Concordia Seminary. She lives with her family in Antioch, Illinois, and spends her time homeschooling, writing, reading, and studying church history.
Find her on Instagram @christa.petzold and at christapetzold.com.

Reviews

[Rebekah Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diligently researched, thoughtfully written, and enhanced with illustrations and a valuable leader’s guide… Journey through Church History is a treasure for teachers and students a like! The historical accounts of Church fathers, reformers, theologians, and pastors help us understand the Church and her struggles and blessings over the past 2000 years. As a homeschool mom, I am beyond excited to use this book to learn and discuss Church history with my children. Christa's book offers a robust account of Church history with a confessional Lutheran approach. (I do think that any Christian who believes in the inerrancy of Scripture will find her book an excellent resource... and those who don't should pick it up too, just to see what they're missing!) Her book is conversational and engaging, yet also well informed. She quotes and summarizes from the Church fathers and other historical figures, offers helpful and memorable anecdotes, and helps us connect all the dots in Church history from the apostles to today's Church. Each chapter reads fluently and beautifully so that all you really need to do is read through it and leisurely discuss the stories. But the leader guide also provides some lovely resources that students and teachers will enjoy—coloring pages, review of key terms, further discussion questions (with their answers on the leader’s page!), scripture to explore together, and a smattering of maps and timelines.

After reading this book with my own children and children I know in mind, my hope is that this treatment of Church history will do more than help them retain the facts of the faith. This book may bolster the faith of the next generation and help them to see how the ancient Church is still the confessional Church today. While time has passed, Christ has held fast to His Church and sustained her. She is not much (if at all) substantially different from the Church of the apostles, and despite the trials of our time, She will be here until Christ comes again! This book helps us to see that the historical view is a hopeful one for the People of God!

[Jennifer Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is a book written for students, I personally learned a lot through it, and I think most Christian adults could use a “crash course” in early church history. I homeschool my children, so I read this book with my kids’ education in view, and I am excited to incorporate it into their world history course coming up this school year. Petzold does an incredible job summarizing, simplifying, and explaining difficult concepts such as heresy, schisms, the hypostatic union, etc. etc. (Try explaining Gnosticism at a 4th grade level—she succeeds!)

What I love most about this book is Petzold’s high view of Scripture and high view of Christ. She communicates beautifully that the truth of Scripture will always prevail and Christ will always preserve His church. She helps students understand how they are part of a family begun 2000 years ago.

It should be noted that this book is by a Lutheran for Lutherans. I am a Baptist, so I do not share Petzold’s beliefs regarding baptism or the Lord’s Supper. There are portions of this book that I will discuss with my Middle Schoolers or supplement with resources specific to our denomination. However, I think it is extremely valuable for my children to understand that while different denominations may have different interpretations about the ordinances and liturgical practices, we can be united around a shared belief in the Person and work of Christ and the authority and inspiration of Scripture.

Most of the book is focused on the time from the Apostles to the Reformation. The chapters covering the past 400 years are more “broad brush.” I think this was helpful because I already have many post-Reformation biographies and histories but very few about the early church fathers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own and shared voluntarily.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been an amazing resource for our family. We read through a chapter every Thursday morning at the end of our family devotions. My youngest two (5 & 8) enjoying coloring the pictures that go with each chapter. I also made a little workbook for the kids that has the vocab words for each chapter for them to define as we read through the book. It has sparked some amazing discussions between all the kids (13, 11, 8, & 5) and I as we’ve gone through it this year. We will take next year off but plan to go through it again in a few years.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource! It is well-researched, and the writing is clear and engaging. I used this in a homeschool setting for my high school son, but I could just as easily use it with my elementary-aged Sunday School students. My son found this to be the most interesting book/topic we studied this year!

[Amy Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure! Whether you are a parent, teacher, Godparent, grandparent or layperson, this book is full of an incredible amount of interesting and important information. A great resource for any school, church or home!

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journey Through Church History is a treasure and long-needed resource suitable for use in congregations, families, and schools. Petzold presents various notable figures from church history (both those well-known and many that the average Christian may not know) in a chronological, easily readable, and engaging format. Readers will learn about the various heresies that infiltrated church teaching over the centuries, and also about the individuals who confronted those heresies and encouraged the Church to remain faithful to God's Word through their lives of faith. Perhaps most importantly, Petzold guides readers to understand why these heresies and church fathers and mothers still matter in today's increasingly secular society. Illustrations, definitions, footnotes, and callouts further enhance readers' understanding and provide additional information without cluttering up the text.

This book would work equally well as a read aloud/school study and individual study. Questions at the end of each chapter help guide comprehension, reflection, and discussion. I especially love that the leader's guide provides further questions, worksheets, and activities to encourage participation from all ages in their study.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a life long Lutheran who has not learned, or read much of Church History outside of the Reformation. I gleaned so much from this text book and am excited to implement this resource into our homeschooling devotional life. Journey Through Church History is a great summarization of our church Father's struggles and strengths throughout history to help shape the church as we know it today.
The student book is written in a delightful read aloud format. The chapters are just the right length to read aloud to multiple ages at the same time or assign to strong readers. I would also highly recommend the workbook to go along with the student book as it has so many options to help encourage discussion and answers. It has beautiful coloring pages to help keep small hands busy while listening. The format of the workbook works so well to be able to pick and chose what to assign to students depending on their age and grade. I am looking forward to starting this set of books this fall with my teenager down to toddler. A wonderful addition to have for us as we learn about our faith and what it has meant throughout history.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the perfect resource to learn church history! It is told in a 'living book' style and doesn't feel like a text book. It feels like being told a story of how the church has come to be what it is today. It is written at a level that children can understand and follow along. As someone who has a hard time learning history, I appreciate the ease of reading this book and being able to understand and retain what I have read. Each chapter focuses on important events and key figures in the history of the church and talks about the different denominations and how they came to be. Each chapter also has discussion questions at the end. A lot of the information in this book was new to me and I found it all so fascinating. I think it is very important for children to learn the history of the church and this resource will do just that!

[Elaine Pszczolkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

JTCH translates the confusing rhetoric of theology into a digestible story, making the history of Christianity fun and easy to learn. The student and leader guides are structured to create an environment that engages the whole family, every member will be able to grow and enrich their faith. Learning about the history and struggles that past Christians have faced give comfort to our present and future generations of Christians in that we all face temptations and attacks from Satan, but Christ has always been there to protect his church and ensure it survives and thrives and he will continue to always be there. Abide in the Lord.

[Shana R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this author’s work and I’m looking forward to working our way through this book with my kids this year. Christa has written several books geared towards adults, but has made this book accessible for children; she’s a great writer. I think this book is a great introduction to church history and the church fathers and I’m sure this book will become a cherished resource in our home.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who teaches Religion, daily, in my classroom. This is such a great resource. There are awesome activities and great lessons that engage all members! Love, love, love!

[Bethanyanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book for church history in our homeschool and it was so good. My children and I learned a lot about the church and our own Lutheran denomination.