Key people are usually found at the heart of new movements of renewal and expansion. Examples would include: Ulfilas, Patrick, Hilda of Whitby, Peter Waldo, William Carey, Susannah Wesley, Samuel Mills, Mary Webb, and Loren Cunningham, etc. The thrust of this thesis is not so much on the memorising of names as upon the lessons learned through history of the importance of key people and what they accomplish. Note the phrase ‘key people’ instead of ‘key leaders.’ The key people have not always been the visible leaders. John Wesley’s story would have been very different, were it not for his mother Susannah Wesley. Often, key people seem to be ahead of their time and it is left to a later leader to realise the full significance of their contribution. By comparing and contrasting key people with one another from different periods in history, we are able to discern dynamic principles, which have aided the expansion of the Christian movement.
Who are the key people today and what movements of renewal and expansion have they precipitated?