This story of the early Christian church – from its infancy to the conversion of the English in about a.d. 800 – pictures a church that is an unquenchable spiritual force organized for tribulation. Its spiritual resources are never stronger than in times of seeming disaster. Bruce gives the reader a feel for the evangelistic fervor of the Apostles and the early Christians in a narrative filled with solid, well-reasoned, richly researched facts. "The way in which Bruce conveys the sweeping narrative of the New Testament is simply enthralling. I found myself not being able to put the book down," said blogger and campus minister Chris Hall