Supported 69 students from 39 Majority World countries in theological doctoral programmes, celebrated the graduation of 14 scholars, and shepherded the ongoing ministries of more than 300 Langham Scholars around the world.
The vision that God gave to John Stott in 1969 has grown under God’s blessing and through the generosity of many people around the world. They are committed, like John Stott, to the centrality of the Bible in the life of the Church, and the need to be equipped and growing to maturity in Christ through the ministry of pastors who believe, teach and live by the Word of God. All three programmes have seen remarkable expansion. Langham Preaching grew from an initial two countries in 2001 to having now launched indigenously led movements for biblical preaching in some 70 countries around the world. Langham Literature, not only continues to distribute evangelical books to hundreds of seminaries and thousands of pastors, but has also fostered the development of indigenous publishers and has already published one-volume commentaries on the whole Bible for many regions of the world, written by national theologians. Langham Scholars are not only multiplying their influence in biblically faithful theological education in the Majority World, but are raising the profile of Majority World evangelical scholarships in the western theological academic community.
Read about John Stott and listen to his audio recordings here.
“Mission arises from the heart of God Himself and is communicated from His heart to ours. Mission is the global outreach of the global people of a global God.”
John Stott founded the Langham Trust to fund scholarships for young evangelical leaders from the Majority World. Recipients studied at British universities, worked toward doctorates in biblical and theological fields and then returned to teach in a seminary in their home country. The name was taken from All Souls Church, Langham Place, London – the church where John Stott was rector (senior pastor) at the time. Those who received scholarship funding from the Trust became known as Langham Scholars, a worldwide family that has now grown to well over 350. The program is now known simply as Langham Scholars.
John Stott founded the Evangelical Literature Trust, into 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. Royalties from John Stott’s books still form a substantial portion of the funds deployed by Langham Literature (as the Evangelical Literature Trust is now known).
Friends of John Stott in other countries wished to support these strategic ministries. In the United States, a group of friends launched the Langham Foundation in 1974, later renamed John Stott Ministries (JSM).
In July 1974, the First International Congress on World Evangelization was convened in Lausanne, Switzerland – the vision of John Stott and his close friend Billy Graham. Over 2,400 participants from 150 nations gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland, for what TIME magazine described as ‘a formidable forum, possibly the widest-ranging meeting of Christians ever held’. The Congress issued The Lausanne Covenant, with John Stott as its chief architect. The Covenant was to prove one of the most significant documents in modern Church history, shaping evangelical thinking for the rest of the century. The Lausanne movement was key to the spread of the Langham Partnership throughout the world.
Friends of John Stott in Canada – initially focused on Vancouver – came together to found Langham Partnership in Canada. In the same year, Australian friends of John Stott – initially focused on Sydney – founded Langham Partnership Australia. Other countries wished to support these strategic ministries. All these groups provided funds for Literature and Scholarships.
In the USA, the name of the ministry was changed to John Stott Ministries. John Stott himself sometimes wryly referred to it as “the ministry that resembles my name.”
In the USA, John Stott Ministries merged with the Foundation for Advanced Christian Training (FACT), with the aim of supporting doctoral students from the Majority World studying at American and Canadian seminaries. 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.”
In 2001, the national organizations in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia committed to working together as a network with a common Statement of Faith, Vision and Mission, and thus the Langham Partnership International was formed.
Dr. Chris Wright was appointed as International Ministries Director to provide coordination for the national bodies and for the three international programs, and to take over leadership of the overall ministry from John Stott.
Another group of John Stott’s friends, in Hong Kong, including some former Langham Scholars, registered the Langham Foundation there. In the same year, Langham Preaching was added to Literature and Scholars as the third Langham program. Preaching now works in over 80 countries throughout the Majority World, where it has been invited in by local ministries which are seeking help in developing a culture of excellent expository, Bible-centred preaching.
The five national organizations, comprised of UK & Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, signed a protocol to define their common purpose and convictions, and to commit the partnership to work together in delivering Langham’s worldwide ministry.
Langham Partnership New Zealand was launched in 2007 through collaboration with Leadership Development International, New Zealand. The combined organization is known in New Zealand as ‘LeaDev-Langham’, and joined the International Partnership.
On July 27, 2011, John Stott went to be with the Lord, leaving a legacy that is still multiplying today around the world. One of the most influential leaders of the Christian Church in the twentieth century, Stott was a man filled with grace and humility, seeking above all, to know Christ and Him crucified.
Honouring the wish expressed by John Stott prior to his death, the John Stott Ministries Board of Directors unanimously approved a name change to Langham Partnership. The name aligned the USA with the growing worldwide movement.
In 2012, after ten years during which Langham Preaching movements developed under indigenous leadership in some 50 countries (more than 80 by 2022), with Scholars and Literature showing similar extensive growth, the Langham Partnership International Council affirmed and welcomed the reality that Langham no longer consists only of the original six founding partners, but has grown into a genuinely global fellowship with a growing number of Langham-connected movements and organizations serving their churches in many nations. This is now reflected in the composition of Langham’s International Council, which includes not just representatives of the six original partners and three programs, but also Majority World representatives drawn from around the world.
In 2021, Langham appointed our first International Director from the Majority World, Rev. Tayo Arikawe of Nigeria, while Chris Wright moved into the role of Global Ambassador and Ministry Director.
Around the world, Langham is walking with the global church to help believers grow to maturity and mission. Langham Partnership, between July 2020 and June 2021 by God’s grace, has:
Supported 69 students from 39 Majority World countries in theological doctoral programmes, celebrated the graduation of 14 scholars, and shepherded the ongoing ministries of more than 300 Langham Scholars around the world.
Equipped more than 10,350 pastors and lay leaders to teach God’s Word, through 323 pastor-training events and more than 850 preaching clubs.
Distributed 67,404 Bible-centred books to Majority World colleges, pastors and publishers, and supported 15 indigenous publishers, in 12 different countries, in the production of 41 local
language titles.
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