The story of evangelicalism in New Zealand is almost as old as the history of European contact. The essays in this volume exhibit much of the breadth and depth of this evangelical witness, divided as it is into two sections: historical and theological. As David Bebbington says of the historical essays in this volume, "what is most striking about the members of the evangelical bodies depicted in this volume is their variety. These people were not uniformly anything, let alone joyless or humourless. The evangelicals of New Zealand were by no means monochrome, and least of all black." Derek Tidball says of the theological essays in this volume, that they exhibit four hallmarks: they are evangelical, contextual, creative, and courageous, before concluding: "These papers show skilled evangelical theological acrobats in action, not for the entertainment of us all but for the instruction of us all."

Tim Meadowcroft is Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Head of School: Theology, Mission and Ministry, Laidlaw College, Auckland, New Zealand.