Grades 6-12...Celebrate the Reformation and the end of the Dark Ages with a fun Reformation Day party! When it comes to the Protestant Reformation, Dr. Steve Lawson says the following: "October 31, 1517, is a pivotal date in church history, one on which the course of human events in Western civilization dramatically turned. On that date, Martin Luther, a relatively obscure professor of Bible at the University of Wittenberg, Germany, nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the front door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. This one-time Augustinian monk was registering his protest against the abuses of the sale of indulgences by the papacy. No one that day foresaw the firestorm Luther was about to unleash. This one bold act proved to be “the shot heard around the world” that launched the Protestant Reformation. Noted church historian Philip Schaff has said that next to the beginning of Christianity, the Protestant Reformation was “the greatest event in history.” It was an unprecedented movement, a far-reaching, history-altering season when the invisible hand of God impacted not only individuals and churches, but entire nations and cultures." Based on a bold statement such as that, one would think that every true Christian would at least have a general understanding of the people, places, events, and—most importantly—doctrines of the Protestant Reformation. Sadly, such is not the case. In fact, it has been said (tongue-in-cheek) that for most believers, church history more or less begins with Billy Graham! The unfortunate reality is that most churches today provide very little instruction to their congregations in the area of church history or historical theology. Some view the past with suspicion, as if differences in eschatology or the administration of the ordinances were valid reasons to discard centuries of Christian thought. Others view church history as virtually unimportant, genuinely thinking—in ignorance—that their individualistic approach to the Bible is somehow entirely uninfluenced by the theological battles of yesteryear. Whatever the case may be, the effect is a generation of believers who have little knowledge, nor thankfulness, for the hand of God working in past centuries among His people to preserve the Gospel.