From Hope to Hardship: The Missionary Dreams and Disappointments of the Belgian Gospel Mission

The untold story of the Belgian Gospel Mission and the influence of American Evangelicalism. From Hope to Hardship begins with the missionary quest of Ralph and Edith Norton, who assisted John Wilbur Chapman around the turn of the twentieth century at the height of his success as a ‘mass-evangelist’ in major US cities and worldwide. The book explores the origins and development of the Nortons’ campaign, and the interactions between a transatlantic faith mission and the broader landscape of Belgian Protestantism. Through a detailed account of the historical context, in a vivid narrative the author examines how the theological framework of first-wave fundamentalism was creatively applied in a transcultural missionary context, introducing the reader to the mission's evangelistic strategies against the socio-political and religious background of post–World War I Belgium. In this comprehensive monograph, Aaldert Prins offers a well-documented and nuanced understanding of the mission’s successes, struggles, and leadership changes, making this book an essential read for anyone interested in the history of transnational evangelicalism and its missionary endeavors.