Langham Partnership History
Langham Partnership began in 1969, led by John Stott and named for Stott's home church in London where he once pastored. Since then, we have worked to raise awareness about the needs of the global church and equip Christian leaders in the Majority World with the education and resources they need to share the Gospel and disciple believers.
Langham's Impact
Langham has:
- Supported the PhD studies of more than 320 Langham Scholars in theological doctoral programs who are currently serving the church in 90+ countries around the world.
- Equipped more than 46,800 pastors and lay leaders to teach God’s Word, through 2,800+ preacher training seminars and 1,100+ preaching groups in 89 countries.
- Distributed more than 2 million biblical books to Majority World colleges, churches, pastors, and publishers in 137 countries, published over 400 books by authors or contributors from more than 90 Majority World countries, and supported 51 indigenous publishers to write and publish 681 local language titles.
About Our Founder, John Stott
John Stott (1921-2011) understood that Christians must be transformed by the Gospel in order for the Gospel to transform the world - modeling love, compassion, forgiveness and justice for the poor and oppressed. And for Christians to grow in maturity, they need leaders who believe, teach and live by God's Word - particularly in the global church where church leaders lacked formal training. That's why John Stott founded Langham Partnership in 1969, donating all royalties from his books to support the training of pastors in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Timeline
1969
The Beginning
Langham Trust is founded by John Stott, given its name from Langham Place at All Souls Church in London, where Stott pastored his adult life. The purpose of the Trust was to fund scholarships for young evangelical leaders from the Majority World. John Stott’s aim was to strengthen evangelical theological education around the world by enabling seminaries to have highly qualified teachers who were academically able and committed to the truth of the Bible and the gospel.
1971
Evangelical Literature Trust Founded
John Stott founded the Evangelical Literature Trust (ELT), to which he assigned all the royalties from his extensive writings in order to provide books for students, pastors and theological libraries in the Majority World. Many hundreds of seminaries around the world have been able to develop adequate libraries only through decades of assistance from ELT.
1974-1979
A Movement Forms
Langham spreads to the United States (1974), Canada (1979) and Australia (1979), all catching the vision to raise awareness of the needs of the global church.
1996
A Name Change
The name in the U.S. was changed to John Stott Ministries. John Stott, in his wry British humor, would often refer to John Stott Ministries as the "ministry that resembles my name."
2001
FACT Reunion | Joining Together
In the United States, John Stott Ministries merged with the Foundation for Advanced Christian Training (FACT). Both of these organizations could trace their roots back to John Stott, so it was, as John said at the time, "more of a reunion than a merger."
The national organisations in the UK, United States, Canada and Australia (later joined by Hong Kong), decided to work together as a network with common statements of faith, vision, mission, and values.
So the Langham Partnership International (LPI) was formed. In the same year, Chris Wright was appointed as International Ministries Director to take over leadership of the overall combined vision and ministry from John Stott.
2002
New Ministries & Partners
The third arm of Langham's approach to equipping the global church, Langham Preaching, was launched, with the recognition there were millions of pastors serving around the world with no training on how to teach the Bible. In addition, Hong Kong joins the Langham Partnership family.
2003
Global Partnership
The five national organizations, comprised of UK & Ireland, U.S., Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, sign a protocol to define their common purpose and convictions, and commit the partnership to work together in delivering Langham's worldwide ministry.
2007
Langham New Zealand
New Zealand joins the Langham Partnership family through collaboration with Leadership Development International. The combined organization is known as LeaDev-Langham.
2011
John Stott Passing
On July 27, 2011, John Stott went to be with the Lord, leaving behind a legacy that is still multiplying today around the world. One of the most influential leaders of the Christian church in the 20th Century, Stott was a man filled with grace and humility, seeking above all, to know Christ and Him crucified. Read more about John Stott.
2012
Return to Roots
Honoring the wishes expressed by John Stott prior to his death, John Stott Ministries Board of Directors unanimously approved a name change to Langham Partnership. The name aligns the U.S. with the growing worldwide movement.
2012
Increased Management and Leadership
The International Council, recognising the growth of the organisation, authorised an increase in its management and leadership. Chris Wright’s job was split with the appointment of Mark Hunt as Executive Director, while Chris continued in his more ambassadorial and writing role.
2018+
Global Capital Growth Campaign
The ongoing strategic plan was synchronised with a global capital growth campaign, aimed not only at seeking to double Langham’s operations over the coming five years but to build sustainability for all three programs over the next ten years.
2023
New Zealand name change
Leadev-Langham in New Zealand rebranded to Beacon Partnerships.