A key part of the Langham Literature programme is walking alongside local, evangelical publishing houses around the world.
The aim is to strengthen local heart-language publishing, enhancing and honing the impact of the books and resources produced. Publishing in the heart-language or ‘mother tongue’ is crucial for local churches, allowing local believers to read and learn in the language of their innermost thoughts.
The support Langham gives is always through a relationship of encouragement and fellowship, with strategic investment and advice.
Langham’s Director of Publisher Development Colin Macpherson, based in Scotland, has been walking alongside local publishing houses for around 30 years, serving 40-50 during that time.
Supporting Christian publishers
When Colin was a guest on our monthly Langham Live zoom call last year, he explained the process of supporting Christian publishers:
“The hope would be that as time goes on, occasionally somebody gets to the point where they don’t need any help anymore. They grow up, they fledge. So Langham would generally aim to take on one new major development project a year. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you add that into a 10 or a 15-year trajectory, that’s all we can take in.”
Just in the last financial year, Langham supported a total of 62 heart-language books, with more than 200 titles ‘underpinned’.
In the same period, Colin has been involved in helped 29 indigenous publishers (five of which are new partners) in 24 countries, in 26 heart languages.
Ethiopia, Cambodia and Central Asia
This includes the start of Onesimus publishing house in Ethiopia, the first of its kind in the country (featured in Spring 2025 Transform magazine).
In Cambodia, Langham had been supporting a publishing house called ‘Fount of Wisdom’ based in the capital, Phnom Penh.
It is now the largest and most recognised evangelical publishing ministry in Cambodia, so Langham has scaled back its support. It did assist in the production of two books last year, and has promised support for two more this year.
Langham supports Christian publishing in several highly sensitive countries around the world, including two ‘stans’ in Central Asia.
Amir*, a Langham Scholar from a Central Asian country, is one of very few theologically trained people in there and he feels called to help build a body of literature in the local language, as there is astonishingly little available.
Producing a theological dictionary
With Langham’s support, Amir has already produced a basic theological dictionary in the local language and he is now embarking on a major project on theological convictions. He feels that Christians in his country need a clear and orderly understanding of their faith. Many have embraced Christianity, but lack the theological tools to articulate what they believe and why.
The goal is to present core Christian doctrines in the local language and worldview, making them accessible and relevant. Colin says the hope is that this project “ will help [these] Christians grow in faith and confidently share it with others”.
These are just two of the 29 publishers that Langham has supported in various ways this last financial year. The ripple effect of contextually relevant, theologically sound books in heart-languages are enormous, impacting congregations and communities for God’s kingdom.
Encouragement is vital!
Speaking on Langham Live, Colin explained that the most important thing he can do is stand with these publishers and encourage them:
“It’s a very wearying job, it’s very discouraging. You never see your audience. It’s not like a preacher who can see the people falling asleep or their eyes opening. A publisher prints into a vacuum and doesn’t always know what impact he or she is having.
“So encouragement, praying with them, telling them it’s okay, that others have gone through this before and that the publisher in the country next door is in a similar slough of despond. It is a helpful thing and I can connect them to each other and I can point them to training, point them to answers to their questions. It’s a relational kind of ministry.”
Listen or watch the full interview with Colin from Langham Live in September 2025.
*Name changed for security reasons