This book tells the story of a 50-year-old movement that has influenced generations of scholars and students in the United States and across the globe. In the late 1960s, when a new generation of evangelicals came of age in the midst of unprecedented cultural upheaval and educational opportunity, visionary leaders helped create a new type of institution: the Christian study center. With roots in Francis Schaeffer’s L’Abri community and Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Christian study centers are now ensconced at dozens of major research universities across the United States.
Historian Charlie Cotherman has spent the better part of a decade researching the genesis of the Christian study centers and their distinctive contributions. In this virtual book launch he will shed light on this compelling history and the movement’s bright future, as well as discuss the process of researching and writing his book (available April 28) with InterVarsity Press's academic editorial director, Jon Boyd.
This event is co-sponsored by Regent College, InterVarsity Press, L'Abri International, and a host of Christian Study Centers.
Charles E. Cotherman is pastor and planter of Oil City Vineyard Church in Oil City, Pennsylvania. He is the administrative director of the Project on Rural Ministry at Grove City College and has taught church history at Fuller Seminary and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He earned his PhD at the University of Virginia and his new book is To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement (InterVarsity Press, 2020).