Story summary
Samenvatting van In Zijn voetstappen
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
A ragged stranger collapses at the communion table, and one pastor asks his flock to ask what Jesus would do.
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In Zijn voetstappen in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 5 h 15 min4 h 10 min fast, 6 h 15 min slow
- Lengte
- 75.400 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1896by Charles M. Sheldon
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In Zijn voetstappen in short
In His Steps tells what happens when a whole community takes one question seriously. A stranger asks what following Jesus means, dies in a pastor's house, and leaves behind a pledge. The pledge moves through a newspaper, a railroad, a singer's career, an heiress's mansion and a city election, then crosses to Chicago.
What In Zijn voetstappen is about
A shabby young printer walks down the aisle of a wealthy church just after the sermon and asks a hard question. What do you Christians mean when you sing about following Jesus all the way? A week later he is dead, and the pastor who heard him can no longer preach as he did before.
In His Steps was written by Charles M. Sheldon, an American minister, in the 1890s. It became one of the most widely read religious novels in English. For one year, ordinary church members do nothing without first asking what Jesus would do, and they act on the answer whatever it costs.
Voor wie is het?. You will enjoy this book if you like stories where one question tests a whole community, or if you wonder how faith could change daily work, money and city life.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A stranger interrupts a comfortable Sunday service
Henry Maxwell is the pastor of the First Church of Raymond. On a Friday morning he is finishing a sermon on following in the steps of Christ when a shabby young man rings his bell and asks for work. Maxwell sends him away politely and goes back to his writing.
On Sunday the church is full. Rachel Winslow sings a hymn about following Jesus all the way, and Maxwell preaches with polish. Then the same young man walks down the center aisle. He says he is a printer who lost his job to the new machines, and that his wife has died in a tenement.
His questions are plain. What would Jesus do in your place? He speaks without anger, then faints before the communion table. He dies in the pastor's house within the week, and Maxwell cannot shake his words.
One honest question, asked from outside the walls, can break open a settled life.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
A pastor proposes a one-year pledge
The next Sunday Maxwell preaches without notes, and he looks worn.
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Norman remakes his newspaper around the question
On Monday morning Edward Norman kneels beside his desk, something he has not done in years.
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Powers and Wright test the pledge in work
Alexander Powers runs the railroad shops, and his first act is a kind one.
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Rachel Winslow gives her voice to the Rectangle
Rachel receives two offers to sing professionally, and both promise good pay.
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Virginia Page brings a fallen woman home
Virginia is rich, and she finds the pledge especially hard.
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The city is drawn into a fight over saloons
Maxwell looks at the Rectangle and sees that the saloon undoes the work of every meeting.
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The movement spreads to Chicago and the Settlement
After a year, a Chicago minister named Calvin Bruce visits Raymond.
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Following Jesus means real suffering, not giving by proxy
The strongest theme of the book is that discipleship costs something.
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How the story is told and where it is tested
Sheldon tells the tale in short chapters, some opening with a line of scripture.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Henry Maxwell The pastor of the First Church of Raymond, who leads his congregation in a pledge to ask what Jesus would do.
- Rachel Winslow A gifted soprano who gives up a professional career to sing for people in the Rectangle slum.
- Virginia Page A wealthy young woman who tries to use her fortune as she thinks Jesus would.
- Edward Norman The editor of the Daily News, who rebuilds his paper on Christian principles at great cost.
- Alexander Powers A railroad shop superintendent who sacrifices his position when he finds proof of the company breaking the law.
- Rollin Page Virginia's brother, a club man and loafer whose life changes and who still loves Rachel.
- Felicia Sterling A sensitive young woman in Chicago who takes the pledge and gives her life to cooking and service.
- Calvin Bruce A Chicago minister who brings the pledge to his church and then moves into a settlement house.
How it ends (spoiler)
Maxwell kneels that night in the settlement and sees a waking vision. He sees his friends in Raymond and Chicago living out the pledge, some in hardship and some in joy, and Jasper Chase and Rose living with their choices. He prays that the churches of America will take the pledge. He sees the motto on every church door and falls asleep dreaming of a church that follows Jesus all the way.
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What is In His Steps about?
It follows a pastor and his congregation who promise for one year to ask what Jesus would do before every action. The story shows how the pledge changes a newspaper, a business, a singer's career and a slum district.
What does What Would Jesus Do mean in the book?
It is the motto of a pledge. Each volunteer asks what Jesus would do in their own place, then acts on the answer whatever the cost. No one decides for another, and honest followers may differ.
When was In His Steps written and is it a true story?
Charles Sheldon wrote it in the 1890s as a novel. The town of Raymond and its people are invented, though the social problems it describes, such as unemployment, tenements and saloons, were real in that time.
Is In His Steps easy to read?
Yes, it reads smoothly. The chapters are short, the dialogue is lively, and some open with a scripture line. Hymns, letters and newspaper editorials keep the pages varied and the story moving from scene to scene.
What is the main message of In His Steps?
True discipleship means personal sacrifice, not comfortable belief. The book argues that if Christians honestly asked what Jesus would do and acted on it, their churches, businesses and cities would change.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Sheldon, Charles M. In His Steps. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-his-steps.
Sheldon, C. M. (2026). In his steps. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-his-steps (Original work published 1896)
Sheldon, Charles M. In His Steps. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-his-steps.
@book{sheldon2026his,
author = {Sheldon, Charles M.},
title = {In His Steps},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-his-steps},
note = {First published 1896}
}
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