The goal of God’s Timeline is to acquaint middle-school and younger children with the broad story of the church.  Linda Finlayson introduces history as the stories of real people who experienced “action and adventure” and “not boring at all”; like all true stories, she says, church history has had “heroes, heroines, and villains” from its earliest days. (7)  This makes the book sound like a vacation Bible school program modeled after comic books or animated movies; it is not.  Finlayson’s writing style is engaging yet serious; the illustrations are realistic and in good taste; and church history is portrayed as a source for our learning and encouragement.

“Big” refers to the book’s length and width rather than to its thickness or the amount of material.   God’s Timeline is rectangular in shape and its color-coded timelines (sometimes extended further with fold-outs) interspersed with explanatory text.   Finlayson divides church history into five time periods, beginning with the Early Church and continuing through the Medieval, Reforming, Missionary, and Modern eras of the church.  Each section opens with a one- or two-page overview of the general characteristics and big names of the era.

Common themes that surface repeatedly through all five time periods are identified by symbols or logos.  Councils are assemblies of church leaders to discuss current issues, address heresies, and help to ensure the spread of correct doctrine.   Creeds are formal summaries of belief intended “to teach new converts and remind mature Christians of what they believe.”  (20)  Martyrdom has occurred frequently as a response of the host culture; kings and queens have had the potential toeither help or persecute the church.  Before the establishment of schools and universities, monasteries operated as centers of knowledge where monks read Scripture, copied manuscripts, created art, and served as educators.

God’s Timeline does well at condensing nearly two thousand years into 82 pages, managing to hit the high points while leaving out minor details.  Finlayson avoids controversies about denominational specifics but does not hesitate to denounce questionable or unscriptural practices, evaluating from a theologically conservative position the weaknesses of such “Christian” movements as the Crusades, the World Council of Churches, and the social gospel endeavor.

Finlayson is Canadian; and since the book was printed in Scotland, British spellings and punctuation methods may cause the reader momentary distraction. In addition, British evangelical churches that practice believers’ baptism are grouped under the heading of “Anabaptist”; thus Finlayson classes both Anabaptist and Mennonite as denominations (although she portrays them accurately and with identical characteristics).

With its blend of well-researched teaching and appropriate illustrations, this book is a rare find.  Accurately simplifying complexities for children is not easy and requires a thorough understanding of the concepts presented.  Finlayson demonstrates this well in her explanations of how the Bible came to us, the canon of Scripture, assorted early heresies, popes and political involvement, the origin of Islam, the five Solas of the Reformation, science and the Bible, and numerous other vital parts of church history.  Not only children but parents, teachers, and Sunday school teachers will enjoy reading it and will increase in their understanding of God’s work through His church.