God's Story - A Review

Of the books I've reviewed over the past few months, this was one of the...most fun...to read.  While written specifically for 14 - to 17-year olds, I learned much through God's Story: A Student's Guide to Church History.


Brian Crosby's book is a brief walk (maybe a jog) through church history. He highlights various important people - some good, some not so good - throughout the history of the church.  He highlights these people as examples, some as examples to emulate, some as examples to help avoid the mistakes of the past.

One aspect to the book that I really appreciated was the way Crosby highlighted the sovereignty of God throughout.  He makes it abundantly apparent that God is absolutely in control.  Even when it appears He isn't present, God is orchestrating events.

A couple of cautions.  First, this is written for middle teens, aimed at 14- to 17-year olds. It would be a great discussion book for an 8th/9th grade small group.  For the more intellectually-inclined, you will find it slow, but you're not the target audience.

Second, keeping the audience in mind, the biographies are brief. I believe Crosby fairly handles the synapsis of each person's life, but, a discriminating eye may be led to critique the missing nuances in the biographies. Again, I'd remind the person of the target audience and the purpose of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I am recommending it to our pastor who oversees our church's teens group.  For the audience, the book is great.

A trailer to the book:

Note: I received a review copy of the book from the publisher.  I was required to provide an honest, not necessarily favorable, review, and the opinions expressed are mine.