The Laity in Christian History and Today

Kenneth Hylson-Smith offers an introductory survey to the part played by Christian lay people in the life and witness of the Churches, from the earliest churches, through the medieval and renaissance church up until the present day. He also gives an overview of the present global situation relating to the status, function and role of the laity.This book will help all Christian people to appreciate the key role played by ordinary lay members in the life and witness of the churches throughout the ages and will enable them to recognise how they too can contribute to the life of the churches. It is a clarion-call for the churches to appreciate what ordinary lay people have achieved throughout the centuries, and to grasp what great potential exists if the laity are now more fully mobilised and equipped for service and given every opportunity for exercising their ministry.