Christian History

Issue 65

Ten Influential Christians of the 20th Century

Originally published in 2000

Christian History magazine was published by Christianity Today from 1982 to 2008.

Articles in this Issue

The Ten Most Influential Christians of the Twentieth Century: Introductory Timeline – Visionary Years

It was an ambitious and sometimes tragic century in which Christians lived out the gospel.

Evangelicalism: Billy Graham

As an evangelist he preached to millions; as an evangelical he put a movement on the map.

Pentecostalism: William Seymour

What scoffers viewed as a weird babble of tongues became a world phenomenon after his Los Angeles revival.

Ministries of Mercy: Mother Teresa

She stirred a generation by touching the untouchables.

Neo-Orthodoxy: Karl Barth

He revived orthodoxy when mere moralism and humanism had seemingly won over the theological world.

Apologetics: C.S. Lewis

The atheist scholar who became an Anglican, an apologist, and a patron saint of Christians everywhere.

Roman Catholic Reform: John XXIII

Elected to be a caretaker pope, he decided instead to revolutionize Catholicism.

Literature of Protest: Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

The high school physics-teacher-turned-novelist whose writings shook an empire

Globalism: John Paul II

In issuing more significant encyclicals and visiting more nations than any other pope, he’s shown that Christianity remains a world force.

Missions and Ecumenism: John R. Mott

Evangelist and ecumenist

Martin Luther King, Jr.

No Christian played a more prominent role in the 20th century’s most significant social justice movement.

Third World: Rumblings to the South

In Africa and elsewhere, third-world Christians are shaking society.

Survey Results: What Do You Think?

How our scholars and general readers voted in the Most Influential Christians of the Century survey.

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