You will hear more regularly from Langham the term ‘doubling the impact’. The ministry believes it is a God-given vision to see the impact of Langham double. The Christian faith is growing – people around the globe know Jesus Christ as their saviour- hallelujah! – it’s Langham’s mission to make sure their faith deepens and matures.
In Langham’s reports – the annual review and the celebration snapshot you will see how Langham is doing on its mission, the number of new Scholars, Preaching Clubs, and books, all the figures collated by Langham’s team but also verified and shining a light on the impact of those figures through working with Excellence in Giving.
Doubling the work is all well and good, but if it makes no difference, what a waste of the resources God has blessed us with. Langham needs to double its impact. That brings me to this month’s Langham Live call.
We heard from Chris Howles, the Head of Theology at the Uganda Martyrs’ Seminary (UMS) in Namagongo, where they have 300 students. Reading impact reports is vital, hearing and seeing the impact from a Langham recipient is not only vital but inspirational and hugely encouraging.
Langham supports UMS, along with just under 700 others with the Langham Library Grant programme. See the celebration report on page 3:
Between July 2021 and June 2022, Langham Literature has: Supplied 14,635 Bible-centred books to 700 Majority World colleges across 79 countries. 11,154 of these books were supplied to 693 colleges free of charge through the Library Grants programme.
Each year UMS receives a grant worth about £120-30 and a copy of Langham’s Literature Catalogue. They choose the books that are relevant to their students, courses and most importantly to their culture – books written (in UMS’ case) by Africans for Africans.
Encouraging and inspiring
Ahh you say, ‘but the postage costs must wipe any savings out’ – Langham never charges postage for books leaving the UK and also the seminary will be able to buy more books at a hugely subsidised rate.
So to listen to Chris for 20 minutes or so on Langham Live this month very excitedly and passionately share about book after book that I recognised from the shelves in our warehouse in Carlisle and have now travelled to UMS, was not just a figure on a page, it brought to life what Langham is and does – so encouraging and inspirational.
But this is the thing isn’t it, they haven’t just travelled from one bookshelf in Carlisle to another in Uganda. In Carlisle, yes they are on a shelf, in Uganda they are having an impact, as the 300 students at UMS, don’t just look at a bookshelf, they take the book off the shelf, read it, engage with it, deepening their faith through it, maturing their faith ready for the ministry that God has laid out for them.
Chris shared how the books help the students in their studies and then the years in front of them in ministry. 300 people going into ministry with a deeper, mature faith to minister to 1000s, probably 10,000s? One student told Chris ‘The best thing I did here [at UMS] was read’.
That’s not figures, that’s impact.
By Simon Foulds, Supporter Development Manager, LPUKI.
