We use cookies for performance, analytics and marketing. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies. For more information, view our Cookie Notice and Privacy Policy.
History of the Christian Church
Includes:
$249 FREE
Get FAST, FREE SHIPPING to the lower 48 states. $250+ orders. Details.
Discover 2,000 years of your Christian heritage in Sonlight's History / Bible / Literature 200 Program. 10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum.


100% MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
Take up to one year to use your curriculum. If you don’t love it, return it! Complete details here.


Discover 2,000 years of your Christian heritage
- Uncover the story of the ages: how Jesus of Nazareth changed the world forever.
- Guide your high schooler with confidence: daily plans and complete materials ensure you cover what's important.
- Gain a balanced view of Christianity's story through Scripture, history and biographies. Expand your horizons with literary classics.
- Watch your teens gain confidence in their faith, develop as writers and grow academically.
- Purchase this Sonlight Christian church history package and you'll get free shipping (lower 48), a one-year guarantee and other perks.
Overview of the History
Instructor's Guides
We've formatted History 220 for independent study, if desired. Your History and Bible Parent Guide and separate History and Bible Student Guide weave materials together cohesively to direct your students with confidence each day.
The Parent Guide mirrors the Student Guide, but also includes answers and extra notes. So you can discuss their reading, check their progress, and bolster their academic and spiritual learning.
History and Biographies
Sonlight's 220 History of the Christian Church seeks to give young people an understanding of their extended family of believers and their heritage as citizens of God's kingdom. It teaches both traditional "Church History," as well as the expansion of the Gospel from the early days in the Roman Empire until now. It seeks to answer questions such as: What has God done through history? How is he moving today? How are we part of the global Body of Christ, and how is the Body bigger than our local churches and denominations?
Church History can offer a more accurate perspective on Christianity – both the good and the bad. We don't have to pretend Christians have only helped the world. Nor do we have to think that the violent Crusades are a valid representation of most of Church History. We can celebrate the hope, compassion, freedom, and progress Christianity has brought society, while understanding the uncomfortable realities of our history.
The foundational text of this course, The Story of Christianity, is coauthored by a Catholic and a Protestant – providing as balanced a point of view as possible. (I personally come from a Protestant perspective, but recognize that the Protestant movement is only part of the whole, and arrived on the scene after 1,500 years of Church History. I understand that Christians in the Western and Eastern Hemispheres have important places in the Christian story.)
To expand on that book, the schedule interweaves The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History, offering additional insight into key moments in Christian history.
Ruth Tucker tells the history of Christian missions in From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. Engaging biographical sketches introduce you to people God has used through the ages.
As The Story of Christianity says, "For Christians and non-Christians alike, the story of Christianity is a major part of the world's history. The Christian faith has affected every sphere of life, from morality to politics, from art to literature, from science to philosophy."
Bible and Doctrinal Studies
Equip your students to understand, deepen and defend their faith. Empower them to articulate the fundamental principles of Christianity. Give them a new appreciation for the beauty and cohesiveness of the Bible. And help them consider Jesus as a real person with real implications for their lives. The Bible 210 program does all of these.
My hope and expectation is that students who complete Sonlight 220 will know God better, love Jesus more dearly, understand the world around them more fully, and follow God's call on their lives more completely.
Estimated daily time for History of the Christian Church: Student: 45min.
Our high school courses are separated by subject to allow customers maximum flexibility. Feel free to buy either the History or the Literature, or both, or to mix-and-match with the History and Literature of other Sonlight courses.
Overview of the Literature
Instructor's Guides
Your 230 Instructor's Guides (IG) weaves all your materials into one exciting and cohesive program. Starting in this upper-level program, each course includes both a Parent Guide and a separate Student Guide. This means you'll get a History and Bible Parent Guide, as well as a History and Bible Student Guide.
Your Parent Guide mirrors the Student Guide, but also includes answers, provides extra notes and allows you to check their progress and discuss their reading. This format allows you to be as engaged or as hands-off as you and your students like.
Classical Literature
The underlying framework of 230 Literature is not obvious at first glance, but it has both a chronological progression and a general emphasis on great works by British authors, plus some of my favorites, too.
It is a stand-alone product and, though it moves in the same progression as 220 History, they are not scheduled to match.
As always, I seek to provide a mix of challenging and easier works, by males and females, in a range of genres.
The range of genres, in this case, is especially rich: historical fiction, legend, short story, lyric poetry, detective stories, ghost story, Gothic horror, science fiction, fantasy, memoir, Gothic romance, adventure, novel, allegory, survival tale, tragedy, epistolary, myth, and comedy.
Looking first at the chronological progression, C.S. Lewis's powerful book Till We Have Faces is a retelling of a Greek myth, with a setting something like ancient Greece.
Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novel The Shining Company, set in A.D. 500, is based on a battle attempted and lost, a book shimmery in its beauty. (How many beautiful books about the Dark Ages can you think of? A rarity, for sure.)
One hundred years later, comes The Ramsay Scallop, set in 1299, in which a young man, back from the Crusades, goes on Pilgrimage with his betrothed.
Continuing on, find a tale set in Eyam in 1665, a village in England that, when the Plague arrived, determined to close themselves off from the rest of the world to prevent further outbreak.
And, finally Robinson Crusoe, which Daniel Defoe published in 1719, is credited as beginning the genre of realistic fiction.
Because Shakespeare is important, students get to read my favorite comedy (Twelfth Night) and his most famous tragedy (Romeo and Juliet). Students get to read a book by the incomparable Dickens: Oliver Twist ("Please, sir, I want some more"). Also, one of the world's most famous allegories, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.
This course is an interesting one to me. When I think of my all-time favorite Sonlight books, few of these come to mind immediately. But when I actually consider these books, it's like they're all sleeper hits. Great reads, all. It's hard to pick favorites because the books are uniformly really solid. When I return to 230, I feel like I'm meeting old friends. When people ask which ones they could cut to make it more manageable, I'm not much help. It's simply a fabulous collection.
Language Arts
Fully integrated with the Literature, this year's Language Arts builds on past years and continues to develop literary analysis, creative writing, research, and essay skills, with weekly writing assignments in a range of lengths and topics.
Know your family
Join the ranks of Sonlighters who know now the story of their Christian family. May you enjoy the fresh conversations and discoveries in store for you. Thank you for being dedicated to your students' academic and spiritual growth!
Estimated daily time for Classic Literature: Student: 45min.
Prefer to build your own course of study?
Create a complete course of study by mixing and matching individual high school courses. Visit sonlight.com/high-school to get started.
- History 220 Parent GuideComplete lesson plans and teaching helps you need to effectively teach Level 220, History, Geography and Bible for the entire year.Retail: $64.00
- History 220 Student GuideThe daily schedule and tools your student needs for Level 220, History, Geography, and Bible for the entire year.Retail: $37.00
- Literature 230 Parent GuideComplete lesson plans and teaching helps you need to effectively teach Level 230 Literature and Language Arts for the entire year.Retail: $64.00
- Literature 230 Student GuideThe daily schedule and tools your student needs for Level 230, Literature and Language Arts for the entire year.Retail: $37.00
- What You Need to Know About Defending Your FaithToday believers encounter a dizzying array of religious options. What You Need to Know About Defending Your Faith gives every believer seeking answers complete training that will firm up their faith and...Retail: $12.99
- The Jesus I Never Knew1996 ECPA Gold Medallion Winner. In his uniquely elegant and thought-provoking manner, Yancey seeks to cast aside all Christian clichés to rediscover who Jesus really was and why He came.Retail: $19.99
- The Westminster Shorter CatechismThis illustrated manual offers clear exposition of each of the 107 questions and answers in this historic evangelical teaching tool.Retail: $16.99
- What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?Wonderfully written, fascinating look at the positive impact of the Gospel down through the ages and into our world today. A necessary antidote to the negative views common in today's society.Retail: $19.99
- The Church of the EastThe inspiring, tragic, almost universally untold story of the church begun by the "Parthians, Medes, Elamites, [and] residents of Mesopotamia" who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9);...Retail: $20.00
- From Jerusalem to Irian JayaA biographical overview of the Western (Roman/Protestant) church's worldwide missions movement from the Biblical period till today. Emphasis on Protestant missions in the last 200 years.Retail: $44.99
- The 100 Most Important Events In Christian HistoryTwo thousand years of church history organized chronologically by events and movements, with special emphasis on people. Written in a readable, journalistic style. Includes pictures of major figures in...Retail: $21.99
- The Story of ChristianityA global view of Christianity from Old Testament roots to the present day.Retail: $28.00
- The Wounds of GodThe second book in the series following the lives of the brothers of St. Alcuin, a medieval monastery.Retail: $13.99
- The Hawk and the DoveA love story about God and man, as well as the love between brothers in Christ, the tale of monastic life reflects the human struggle of every person who desires to love God and receive grace.Retail: $14.95
- A Solitary BlueA story about growing through the pain of betrayal and loss. An excellent picture of what it means to grow up and discover the meaning of maturity.Retail: $12.99
- Moon Over ManifestSecrets, spies, and stories drive this tale forward, packed with historical detail and bringing redemption despite loss. Heartwarming.Retail: $8.99
- A Child's Anthology of PoetryDon't underestimate your children's ear for poetry. Well over two hundred great works in one rich volume—from Blake, Dickinson, and Wordsworth to Keats, Frost, and the exquisitely translated haiku of...Retail: $18.99
- The Best of Father BrownA quiet, unassuming priest solves mysteries based on his knowledge of human character. Delightful collection of the best of Father Brown.Retail: $9.95
- Jane EyreThe classic story of a plain, yet spirited governess, her arrogant employer, and how their relationship developed over class barriers. The archetype for all Gothic romances.Retail: $8.99
- Oliver TwistOliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens, is the story of a good-hearted orphan who runs away to London only to be captured by thieves.Retail: $5.95
- A Parcel of PatternsThe Plague comes to town via a parcel very innocently bought. I love how this author writes.Retail: $10.99
- Pilgrim's Progress in Today's EnglishThe classic allegory about Christian who leaves his home in the City of Destruction to travel to the Celestial City.Retail: $9.99
- The Annotated Pride and Prejudice"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Thus opens this most popular of Austen's books, all of which revolve, more or less,...Retail: $20.00
- The Ramsay ScallopFourteen year-old Elenor reluctantly awaits the return of her betrothed from the Crusade.Retail: $10.99
- Robinson CrusoeThe classic story of a shipwrecked mariner that has stood the test of time. Written by author Daniel Defoe and first published in 1719, Robinson's story of survival has entertained many.Retail: $7.95
- Romeo and JulietA timeless tale of star-crossed lovers from feuding families. This beautiful, poetic play is Shakespeare's most famous - and for good reason. Read Shakespeare Made Easy -Romeo and Juliet for a romantic,...Retail: $7.99
- The Screwtape LettersScrewtape, a demon from the devil's own horde, has written these letters to his nephew, Wormwood, giving him tips on how to trip up the church. An eye-opening book.Retail: $16.99
- The Shining CompanyA tragedy set in the context of seventh century Britain. 300 Companions seek to protect their land from invading Saxons. Told by a master storyteller.Retail: $15.99
- Till We Have FacesA masterful retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth presented with a Christian twist as only C.S. Lewis could do it.Retail: $16.99
- Twelfth NightTeaching Twelfth Night is made easy with this side-by-side text. My favorite Shakespearean comedy. A love story of mistaken identities complete with Shakespeare's wonderful use of language.Retail: $6.95
- What HeartsFollows Asa from the last day of first grade through 7th, as he survives cruel tests of his intellect, integrity, and sense of decency. A touching, perceptive portrait of a remarkable child. Poignant....Retail: $10.99
- The Wise Woman and Other StoriesFour wonderful tales written by the man whom C.S. Lewis considered one of the world's best Christian authors.Retail: $18.99


100% MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
Take up to one year to use your curriculum. If you don’t love it, return it! Complete details here.

