Chris Wright, Riad Kassis, Pieter Kwant, three Scholars and others encouraged and inspired around 40 supporters at Langham’s Vision Day in Scotland last month.
Held at the Carrubbers Christian Centre in Edinburgh, attendees heard about the incredible breadth of what God has entrusted to Langham all over the world.
Langham Literature Director Pieter explained about the huge number of projects that the programme is involved in, arguing that we do not live in a “post-book world”. He said that part of their work is ensuring that local audiences in the Majority World know about the contextual resources that Langham has produced or distributed.
Africa Bible Commentary revisions
He asked supporters to pray about a number of projects they’re working on, including revisions to the land-mark Africa Bible Commentary (ABC). The ABC was first published over 10 years ago and seriously needs updating. A team of top African Scholars is meeting regularly to work on a second edition.
The Vision Day attendees were captivated by three powerful videos, encapsulating the breadth of Langham’s work through the Preaching, Literature and Scholars programmes.
The Literature video highlighted the programme’s work in supporting indigenous Christian publishing houses in the Majority World. With Langham’s support, a publisher in Benin is able to produce ten books a year, which shed light on the culture and enable the Gospel to move from the surface to the heart.
Inspiring glimpse
And the Scholars video gave an inspiring glimpse into the life and ministry of Langham Scholar Hikmat Kashouh. Since graduating from Birmingham University, he’s seen the transforming work of the Gospel when he led his church to reach out sacrificially to Syrian refugees. The Langham Preaching video cannot be shared online because of security reasons.
Speaking at the Vision Day, Langham Scholars Director Riad told supporters that the active presence of Langham Scholars is transforming lands such as the Middle East into lands of hope. More than 325 Scholars have now graduated with Langham’s support, including the first female graduate from the Middle East/North Africa region, Rula Mansour.
Current Langham Scholar Sofanit Abebe was interviewed on stage about her studies and time at Edinburgh University, and shared her appreciation for Langham Scholar Care Coordinators Liz and Malcolm McGregor. They have helped her and her family adapt to life in Edinburgh and to feel connected after leaving their friends and family in Ethiopia.
Build bridges between East and West
And fellow Scholar Beatrice Ang from the Philippines told supporters that she chose to study in Edinburgh in order to build bridges between the East and West, as she discovered that Filipino teenagers are being ‘discipled’ by people all over the world through social media.
She plans to return to work on the staff at a Bible College in the Philippines, as the leaders are looking to hand over to staff who are younger than them.
Langham’s International Ministries Director Chris Wright and LPUKI Director John Libby gave an overview of Langham Preaching. The work began with John Stott taking training seminars in Latin America in 2001. In 10 years the work grew to 60 countries and now Langham Preaching has a presence in 87 countries.
Indigenous committees
Langham Preaching Director Paul Windsor has built regional teams, and now there are a number of movements run by indigenous national committees. An important feature of Langham Preaching is ‘preaching clubs’, where pastors meet between training sessions to help each other with sermon preparation. These have taken off in Latin America, and in countries such as Indonesia.
Chris Wright reminded supporters that Langham Preaching only goes to places where they’ve been invited and works with the local churches.
John Libby explained to attendees the ambitious growth targets that Langham has for the next five years. Fundraising Manager Simon Foulds urged supporters to prayerfully consider financially giving towards Langham’s vital ministry.
The next Vision Day is at All Souls, Langham Place on Saturday 7 March 2020.
