According to the author, during the era of awakenings and revival, the various denominations in the Southern States of the USA shared the same goal of saving souls but disagreed over the correct definition of true religion and conversion.

John Wesley created an independent Methodist Church in 1784 in order to provide the sacraments to its members in America. The system created, however, did not seem to have the same understanding of the Lord's Supper that Wesley had, and it did not allow for the frequency to receive Communion that Wesley desired. Steven Bruns analyzes the writings of Wesley and those early Methodists involved in this process to discover what actually happened and why. In this book, Bruns looks at figures such as Francis Asbury, Freeborn Garrettson, Thomas Coke, William Waters, and many other leading figures of American Methodism to uncover their understanding of God's grace, the Lord's Supper, and the nature of the Church.

In Signs of the SpiritÓ the author analyzes church renewal from a historical perspective, focusing especially on the Montanist, Pietist, Methodist, and Moravian movements. Professor Snyder then synthesizes the lessons of church renewal in history and applies them in such a way that inspires a renewal strategy for the local church today.