Equipping the global Church…
By God’s grace, great work continues to be done through Langham’s Preaching, Literature and Scholars programs. As it did in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected some activities this year, but the work has still gone ahead!
Here are some of Langham’s statistics for the last financial year –
PREACHING – Training pastors to preach the Bible
- 204 preaching training seminars were held in 54 countries. 54% of the seminars were virtual (online). There are 98 Langham Preaching Movements in 85 countries around the world, but some had to pause Preaching seminars during FY21 due to COVID.
- 8,909 pastors and lay leaders were equipped to teach God’s Word (1,691 of these are local indigenous Facilitators and Preaching Club coordinators). Training has been led by 620 local Facilitators, who are equipped and working together in teams to train others.
- 1,193 preaching groups of 7-10 pastors and leaders are meeting regularly for ongoing training and mentoring.
- 6 global or regional consultations/forums or leadership meetings were held, involving 220 leaders and/or coordinators from across the world to review, learn, train and plan. All of these were remote (online).
LITERATURE – Developing and distributing biblical resources
- 16,563 Bible-centred books were supplied to 633 Majority World colleges across 80 countries to help students grow and mature in Christ. 9,582 of these books were supplied to 627 colleges free of charge through the Library Grants program.
- 13,940 Bible-centred books were distributed to Majority World pastors, students and ministry partners in need of study materials. 5,262 of these books were supplied free of charge to participants at, or Coordinators of, Langham Preaching seminars.
- 5,561 Bible-centred books were distributed to partner Majority World publishers.
- 22 indigenous publishers in 17 different countries were supported in the production of 55 local language titles, through the awarding of Publisher Grants. Additionally, 13 local writers in 12 countries were supported through Writer Grants. 6 Majority World Editors were mentored and 1 Majority World writer trained.
- Langham Literature published 46 books, 33 by MW authors/contributors, and 7 by Langham Scholars.
- Langham Literature also supported the publication of 2 ground-breaking Bible Commentaries (The Branch Exposition of the Bible: New Testament and South Asia Bible Commentary – Hindi translation), and actively worked on 18 other Bible Commentary projects.
SCHOLARS – Cultivating theological leaders
- 84 PhD students from 44 MW countries were supported in theological doctoral programs. 22 of these are new scholars who commenced Langham scholarships during the 2020-21 academic year.
- 19 scholars graduated, all of whom have returned to serve in the Majority World. These are leaders who will go on to shape their nations with a biblical worldview as they teach in seminaries, start salt and light ministries, and serve at the highest levels in government – and join a fellowship of more than 325 graduated Langham Scholars serving around the world.
- 3 current doctoral MW scholars and 3 postdoctoral scholars were supported with study residencies for concentrated periods of study, or research and writing projects, in centres where there is access to excellent library resources and a research community.
- 6 online Regional Scholar consultations were held for current Langham Scholars.
- Langham Scholars had at least 20 articles and 34 books published.
Please also join us in prayer for…
LITERATURE
Pray for those translating the Slavic and Central Asian Bible Commentaries.
Publishing in the heart language of one of the Central Asian countries is currently at a low ebb due to the lack of leadership. Pray that the Lord would call and equip the person(s) of His choice to take things forward.
PREACHING
Thank you for praying for these upcoming Preaching training events. Note that as there will be no eNews in January, events are listed up until mid-February. Where a country is sensitive, the region is given.
- 2-8 January – Uganda, South Asia
- 9-15 January – Burundi, Sweden
- 23-29 January – Burundi, Uganda
- 30 Jan – 5 Feb – Croatia, Kenya, Switzerland
- 6-12 February – Burundi, Sierra Leone, Switzerland
- 13-19 February – Cambodia
Pray also for the “Langham Connect” Preaching project, where staff are working to ensure the Langham Preaching adult learner-centred ethos of training is maintained despite some training having to be run virtually; pray for Jennifer Cuthbertson and her team as they do this.
Gillean Smiley writes …
As stewards of the resources with which God blesses us, it is important that we are accountable and strive for the most effective use of every dollar. Measuring and reporting on our outcomes is one significant way which we can know if the time, effort and financial input is reaping a reward. I have always been very wary of trying to measure spiritual outcomes, or to attribute God’s blessing to a particular program. However there are practical and objective measures we can and should use to test how a program is impacting both the immediate participants (such as scholars or preaching training participants) and the ultimate beneficiaries (those taught by the participants). Where we fall short, we are able to improve our processes or rethink our approach. When God blesses the work, we rejoice and thank Him.
More information about the outcomes of Langham’s work in 2021 will be available in our Annual Report – please contact us if you would like an electronic or a hard copy. However this snapshot encourages us to continue to labour in the ministry God has given us, knowing that He is able to do more than we could possibly ask or imagine. Once again, God has enabled the support you generously provide to be multiplied many times over among those who most desperately need it. As we thank Him for the innovation and hard work that has been a feature of 2021, we bring the coming year to him in prayer for His ongoing guidance, provision and blessing.
May He bring you peace and joy this Christmas as we remember the birth of our Lord and Saviour.