From Hope to Hardship

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.

Acknowledgments
Introduction

The Desperate Quest for a Mission Field
Apostles of the Belgian Trenches
Bridgehead Brussels
Driven by Dispensational Urgency
Workers for the Vineyard
From Formative to Normative: The Structural Development of the BGM
From Dollar Mission to Beggars Mission, 1926-1936
New Leadership under the Clouds of War
The Nazi Occupation
Cutting the Umbilical Cord, 1945-1962

Conclusion
Appendices
List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index of Persons
Colophon

Aaldert Prins

Aaldert Prins is an authority on Protestant heritage within KADOC-KU Leuven in cooperation with Evadoc and affiliated researcher in Historical Theology at the Evangelical Theological Faculty Leuven.

‘From Hope to Hardship: The Missionary Dreams and Disappointments of the Belgian Gospel Mission’ by Aaldert Prins was listed in Church History: Books of the Month (June 2025). More information is available at https://churchhistory.org/books-of-the-month/recent-books-in-church-history-june-2025/

Recenser un livre en anglais pour Bibliodok est exceptionnel mais reflète l’importance de cet ouvrage pour des croyants œuvrant pour le Christ en Belgique, soucieux de comprendre le paysage évangélique belge et/ou désireux de sonder les questions complexes qu’implique l’activité missionnaire dans un pays européen. Comme pour d’autres ouvrages de théologie historique, nous gagnons en sagesse en lisant ce livre. - James Hely Hutchinson, Institut Biblique de Bruxelles ASBL, October 2025, https://www.institutbiblique.be/recension?x=from-hope-to-hardship&p=1

Aaldert Prins is erin geslaagd om in zijn boek From Hope to Hardship op een open, eerlijke en toegankelijke wijze ons een inkijk te geven in het ontstaan van de Belgische Evangelische Zending, haar successen maar ook de vele problemen en teleurstellingen. Het boek geeft zodoende inzicht op zaken die voor velen van ons vanzelfsprekend lijken maar het zeker en vast niet zijn. - Martin Lelie, Verbinding, nr 180, okt-nov-dec 2025

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