In Depth:  Langham Partnership

Dr Solomon Andria has retired after many fruitful years coordinating Langham Literature’s work in Francophone Africa.

Originally from Madagascar, Solomon (see photo) was an integral part of Langham’s publishing work since its inception. This included being the general editor of both the Malagasy (Madagascar language) and French editions of the Africa Bible Commentary (ABC ).

In the Autumn, Langham Preaching held its first-ever Global Women’s Forum in Cyprus. This encouraging report comes from attendee Jill McGilvray, a Langham Partnership Australia committee member.

‘There were about 50 women of varying ages from 38 countries: Africa, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific. It was led by Ruth Slater, Associate Director of Langham Preaching, with the help of a committee of women from all around the world.

Eritrean refugees were among 50 preachers blessed with a translated copy of Chris Wright’s award-winning book ‘Sweeter than Honey’ at a seminar in northern Ethiopia in May.

The movement coordinator there – who cannot be named for security reasons – said the participants were so happy to each receive two copies, one in English, one in Amharic.

The need for good theology in Indonesia was unpacked by Dr Dwi Maria Handayani, the Associate Director for Langham Preaching in Asia, as she spoke to New Zealand Christian radio in the winter, and as reported on in March.

It was through being a World Vision sponsored child in a poor Indonesian village that Dwi grew in her faith. Her parents were the first generation in the whole family to be Christians. Dwi is now a graduated Langham Scholar, gaining her PhD in 2017.

Hikmat Kashouh shared in January how the Resurrection Church in Beirut follows Jesus by serving Syrian refugees.

‘As a church we had Syrians come to us and they were totally without hope. They had lost their homes, lost their land, lost their properties. The people were traumatised and they came broken, totally in despair. They had no food, no clothes except the ones they were wearing. We had to join hands with a number of churches to be able to serve them,’ he said.

Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have higher levels of traditional religious practice and are more likely to believe in God than Western Europeans, said research published in December.

A Pew Research Centre survey also revealed that the Christian share of populations in Central and Eastern Europe is stable or increasing. But in Western Europe, Christianity is in decline. 56,000 adults were questioned between 2015 and 2017 in 34 Western, Central & Eastern European countries.

In December, the Revd Dr Andrea Zaki joined the South Sinai Governor to lay the foundation stone for the first evangelical church in the Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Dr Zaki, President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt, said the church will seek a holistic mission by serving everyone equally.

It was reported in November that the Arabic Contemporary Commentary (ACC) was launched in Cairo after ten years of work to produce it.

It is the first of its kind: a commentary on the whole Bible, written by 48 Arab theologians, for Arabic-speaking churches in the Middle East and North Africa. The commentary also contains 106 articles on contemporary issues facing the ordinary Arab citizen, including scientific, economic, political and religious topics.

For a new believer in northern India, it’s not uncommon to be baptised at midnight, not because it’s more meaningful by moonlight, but because the cover of darkness offers more safety in a region where Christians increasingly face persecution.

For a new believer, gaining ultimate freedom in Christ often means losing other freedoms, like drawing water from the community well or walking down the street without fear of being beaten. Amazingly, churches are growing where many of the 400 million people are in desperate poverty and most have never heard of Jesus.

The first seminar at the Coral Coast Christian Campsite in Fiji took place early in 2018.

Stephen Williams, Langham Preaching’s Regional Coordinator for the South Pacific said: ‘One pastor, Tukana Nakesu, told me that when he became a Christian he had sought a church where the Bible was taught properly. He couldn’t find one. When he heard of Langham Preaching he realised it was exactly what he had been looking for. Tukana is now the Country Coordinator for Fiji and chairs the local organising committee.’

Chapel services at Paya Lebar Methodist School helped Dr Rachel Rajagopal, a Singaporean Christian from a Hindu background, to understand the message of the gospel and at the age of 13 she accepted Jesus as her saviour.

Nearly two decades later, when she was part of a discipleship group with 11 others led by her church leader, Dr Rajagopal understood that she also needed to make Jesus Christ her Lord.

As part of Langham Preaching’s vision to train indigenous believers to deliver training in their own contexts, an exciting workshop for leaders of preaching seminars took place in Zambia earlier in the year, with two indigenous men delivering part of the training.

Delegates came from Zambia, DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Emeka, the regional coordinator in Nigeria also attended, alongside two interns from Burkina Faso and Togo.

A preaching seminar was held in Northern Ethiopia, an area dominated by the Orthodox Church and under-reached by the gospel, earlier in 2017.

Right on the border of Eritrea, where a brutal government persecutes Christians, 100 to 150 Eritreans daily are risking their lives crossing the border. Many of these are evangelical Christians, who are now living in four camps in the area where the Langham Preaching seminar took place.

While in Myanmar in the Spring, a Langham representative met some inspiring people who go all out to reach people with the gospel.

The person from Yangon said: ‘I and my brother will be leaving next month to conduct a Langham Preaching event for a week in the far north of the country. It is a mountainous region, but there are Christian villages, and pastors from about 60 churches will be there. We will take two flights to the nearest city. Then we travel for two days on rented motorbikes (the roads can’t take four-wheelers). And then another two days hiking on foot (with the help, we hope, of porters if we can hire them).’