Bo o k s h
ops
Digital
1941-2 1941-2016 forever gr
Publishing
Wholesale
forever grateful
Bringing glory to God by making Evangelical Christian literature available to all nations so that people may come to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ. Icon artwork by Freepik
CLC International
291 Abbeydale Rd, Sheffield, S7 1FJ View this Magazine Online: clcinternational.org Enquiries or Feedback: office@clcinternational.org
From the Editor, What a blessing it has been to be a part of this project! All these incredible stories have caused me to continually stop and thank God for all he has done for CLC in the last 75 years! I hope as you read these stories from around the world that they will encourage you to reflect on your own journey and give thanks with us. Thank you for being a vital part to our ministry. Forever Grateful, Amanda Lutes *A HUGE thank you to Neil and Sheena Wardrope, as well as Jacqui Burne.
CLC International (UK)
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Looking Back with Neil Wardrope: CLC International Director (2004 - 2016)
I firmly believe that you do not know where you are going to unless you know where you have come from. So where has CLC come from? My personal memory only goes back to 1993, but we have the testimonies and stories of those who went before. A selection are included in this anniversary magazine. God chose a special couple, Ken and Bessie Adams, to give birth to the vision. Ken had seen for himself the power of Christian literature in Spain, even though he could not speak the language. The couple were inspired by the WEC leader, Norman Grubb, to extend that vision, linking up with many countries around the world where WEC was working. The core values of CLC—faith, holiness, sacrifice and fellowship— reflect the commitment of the early missionaries to the task of taking Bibles and Christian books to ‘all nations’. All religions and philosophies have their ‘book’, whether it be the Koran, Bhagavad Gita, Mein Kampf or The Communist Manifesto. CLC has had the privilege and responsibility of sharing in the distribution of the Word of God, the Bible, and we have seen the incredible impact on people’s lives. It is a great joy that in this digital age, the Bible continues to be distributed in ever greater numbers. The main thrust of our work has always been our bookshops as they are neutral locations. People who would never go to a church will enter a bookshop. This has given us unique opportunities over the years, and we are in contact with 10,000 people every day — and many more through our websites. We have been able to respond to the major political changes in the last 30 years with the opportunity to set up work in no less than nine countries in the former Communist bloc. As it says in 2 Tim 2:9 — “God’s Word is not chained”. Any religion or philosophy that sets itself against the Word of God cannot prosper. In our 75th year we can say that God has enabled CLC to work in 75 different countries, most still functioning, while some have closed and others have been passed on to other ministries. This reflects the commitment and gifting of hundreds of people from around the world, enabling great Christian books to be distributed in dozens of languages. To God be the Glory!
In this issue:
Looking Ahead with Gerardo Scalante: 2016 CLC International Director
As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of CLC International, we are grateful for the exciting and valuable history that God has allowed us to write. We are also grateful for the testimony, faithfulness and the miraculous way in which Ken and Bessie Adams faced the tremendous challenges and difficulties of their time, while carrying forward the vision that God had given them. It is easy to see that the times in which we live today are very different from those early days of CLC. Ours are times when technology has affected the way we live and every area of what we do, including the distribution of Christian literature. We are living in an age when, although there is no ‘world war’ taking place as there was when CLC began, there is conflict, suffering, insecurity and lack of peace spread around the globe. Although the times are different, people’s needs remain the same as 75 years ago, now even more urgent and desperate than before. So, it also becomes more necessary than ever to carry forward the vision of making the Good News available to all nations through Christian literature and other resources. My time in CLC began in my home country of Uruguay. It was a period of learning as I drove the CLC van to the interior of the country distributing books in areas where they were not available. The Lord then called me and my family to go to Panama. After a very short time the bookshop was destroyed by a fire (see p22), but we saw God’s favour as the work was built up in a wonderful way. Next I was asked to be the Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean. It has been wonderful to see significant growth across Latin America. In all these experiences I have seen that the Lord is faithful to His Word: “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (NLT)
The fulfillment of our mission faces new challenges and there are changes that are necessary to remain relevant in what we do. Today we look to the future with faith in God, with a renewed commitment to the vision and a renewed passion for what we do.
Page:
1941: United Kingdom 4-5 1944: Canada 6 1947: Dominica 6 Liberia 7 USA 8 Feature: Working Together... 7 1948: Germany 8 Uruguay 9 1950: Japan 9 Feature: Quotes, Poems & Greetings 10 1951: Trinidad 10 France 11 1954: India 11 Indonesia 12 1956: Italy 12 1957: Barbados & Philippines 13 Austria 14 1958: Thailand 14 Chile 15 Feature: International Office (IO) 15 1959: Papua New Guinea 16 1961: Côte d’Ivoire 16 Pakistan & Antigua 17 Feature: Training Leaders... 18 1962: Netherlands 19 1966: Sierra Leone 19 Spain & Mozambique 20 1970: Venezuela 21 1973: Colombia 21 1975: Korea 22 1976: Panama 22 1981: Cyprus 23 Feature: ...Forever Grateful Moments 23 1985: Portugal 24 1991: Romania 24 Burkina Faso & Poland 25 Feature: Making the Message Global 26 1992: Myanmar 26 1993: Bulgaria & Hungary 27 1994: Belarus 28 1996: Central Asia 1 28 1997: Central Asia 2 29 1998: Benin 29 2001: Ecuador 30 2006: Russia 30 Feature: Disaster Relief Stories 31 2007: Kenya 32 2008: Switzerland 32 2013: Bolivia 33 2014: Mexico 33 Feature: More Than A Bookshop 34 Partners: 34-35
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Brazil, Argentina
1950
1940 Still Open Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
1970 Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
1941: United Kingdom The Ministry’s Early Days The first CLC bookshop nearly didn’t happen! Ken
and Bessie Adams had a bookshop in Colchester and, at the same time, in the late 1930s, they were considering running a WEC Regional Headquarters. Ken wrote: “We were willing to offer our services to WEC but we had a problem... the bookshop. We had no liberty to close it; we were willing to consider selling it or employ someone to carry the main responsibility, which would free us to travel throughout East Anglia in the interest of WEC.” On mentioning this to Norman Grubb (WEC General Secretary), he said: “Close it? Indeed not! We should have bookshops like this all over the country – a chain of Christian bookshops...”
Advance Into the Impossible In 1943, when sitting with his team of seven staff
in Colchester, all of whom were all living off the widow’s pension of one of the group, Ken Adams startled the group by suggesting a CLC advance into London. “Open a shop in London!” exclaimed Fred Whybrow. “Open a shop in London?” echoed Dorrie Brooking (the supplier of the widow’s pension), “How?” “It is impossible,” said another of the team, to which Ken Adams replied, “We are going to advance into the Impossible.” 4
“As we prayed and thought and dreamed, the vision kept enlarging. We could see not only a chain of bookshops across the British Isles, but a chain of bookstores throughout the English speaking world... and even in other countries where English was widely used. And more, we could become a service agency for the literature needs of missionary societies and the national church around the world. We had been doing this very thing in a limited way... now the whole world was our vision.” “The Christian literature organisation, under the title of Evangelical Publishing House*, was born on November 1, 1941. At this time, the name did not need to be registered with any government department, but on that day it was my happy privilege to go to our local bank and change the bank account from ‘The Bible Depot, Proprietor: Kenneth R. Adams’, to The Evangelical Publishing House, with myself and Fred Whybrow as the two signatories to operate the account. We did not, of
course, register with the bank the name of the true Proprietor, but to us and to the rest of our small team of workers, we fully and gladly recognised His name to be the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Foolishness of God by Ken Adams) * Just a year or so later the mission title was changed to ‘Christian Literature Crusade’
Favourite Quote:
Faith on Fire by Norman Grubb “It really is something
to see and laugh at the rickety starts of these various launches of faith, and then see emerging a properly run literature organisation which can meet the commercial world on its own level – yet the end and aim of it is the bringing of Christ-centred literature to millions of people in many countries. The primary activity and interest is not sales but souls, not a business but a ministry.”
CLC Innovation by Hilary Cameron In the 1960s, greetings cards were not
common, and none had Scripture texts. CLC artist Charlton Smith designed a set of Christmas cards with Bible verses included. and these were then published by CLC. From there Dorrie Brooking, the buyer for CLC, made an arrangement with publishers to get texts in all greetings cards purchased by CLC.
Ko
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
orea
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1980 Panama
Tanzania Peru
1990 Cyprus
Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania, Portugal
Memories We Cherish: An Interview with Doris Race Back in the late 1930s, Fred Whybrow and his wife
had a lovely home and ran a grocery business in Chelmsford, Essex (UK). One day their son gave them the book C.T. Studd that was written by Norman Grubb, the General Secretary of WEC at that time. The Whybrows were challenged by what they read and started to run a WEC prayer meeting in their home. Norman Grubb himself visited one of the prayer meetings and encouraged the Whybrows to link up with Ken and Bessie Adams who ran a bookshop, The Bible Depot, 20 miles away in Colchester. In obedience to the call of God and at Mr. Grubb’s suggestion, the Whybrows sold up in Chelmsford and moved to Colchester to join the small team there and the new bookshop project that the WEC leadership had envisioned, soon to be named CLC. Doris Race, the Whybrow’s daughter, remembers those early days well. She was at college in Chelmsford when the family moved to Colchester, but she cycled there when she had time off and was active in helping the small team, eventually serving with CLC rather than pursuing the career she had initially chosen. As shops opened rapidly around the UK, a total of six by the end of World War 2, Doris was moved around from one shop to another to help start them up. As Doris commented, “If you are going to do the Lord’s work, there is a price to pay.” Doris then got caught up in the expansion overseas and served with CLC in Uruguay (1948-53). Following that, she and her husband, Alan, served with CLC in the UK, including 11 years in Sheffield. Now in her 90s, Doris not only has vivid memories of the early days, but she also keeps in touch with everything that goes on in CLC today! She gets the regular prayer and news updates by email and is still praying for CLC 75 years on!
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Myanmar
Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
2010
Ecuador
Kenya Russia
Switzerland
Bolivia Mexico
A Background to Taking Over Six Existing Bookshops by Phil Burnham The 2008 financial crisis, which caused many churches and individuals to put the budgetary brakes on, merely
underlined the difficulties already impacting the recruitment efforts of mission agencies. The CLC trend was clear: personal financial support for our existing staff was falling, there were no fresh faces on the horizon and we were faced with having to close shops due to lack of staff. At that time we had no employees, only supported workers. In view of this, consultation before and during the May 2009 staff conference culminated in the Trustees approving an amendment to the Constitution which would enable CLC to become an employer, if need be. When bankruptcy hit the UK’s #1 supplier of Christian resources that very same year, it was our culture-changing decision to keep six of the Wesley Owen bookshops open — with employees! — that catapulted the mission forward sooner and faster than anyone had expected. God’s timing was perfect!
Opening Day Celebration
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment:
CLC Wholesale Relocation by Eddie Olliffe 2015 proved to be an important and crucial year
for CLC Wholesale. The long- awaited move of the CLC Warehouse took place over the UK’s bank holiday weekend at the end of August. God has been so faithful, and we have been utterly amazed at His goodness. We were able to find, purchase, refurbish and move to a new warehouse, all in the space of a few short months. We had previously been prevented from going ahead with the purchase of another building but, in early 2015, we located a sizeable 2,800m² facility near Chester in the north-west of the UK, just across the border in Wales.
Everyone rose to the occasion. The CLC retirees, especially those living in the area around the previous warehouse, encouraged all those involved in this move, and the team felt lifted and empowered by the prayers and love of those who had gone before. Despite the many, many challenges (which included the installation of a completely new computer system), CLC Wholesale was active again by early September. We had a very good trading period leading up to Christmas and managed to remain ahead of the previous year’s sales figures, despite the gap in trading due to the move at the end of August. God is truly faithful and clearly went before us. Sola Deo Gloria - all glory to Him. 5
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
1950
1940 Still Open United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
USA
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
St. Lucia, New Zealand
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
1945: Canada
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment:
CLC Canada Begins Publishing Canada launched a publishing
project in 2014, starting with Josh McDowell’s book, More than a Carpenter. At the time, CLC Canada wrote: “Imported books in French normally work out very expensive for CLC Canada and our customers – the version of the book from France sells for $39.99 but we can sell this edition for $14.99! This shows that it would be a good long-term strategy and investment to do more publishing ourselves.” Since then, three other books have been published with at least another four on the way!
6
Flash forward to 2015. After the sale of the Westmount property, we moved to Verdun and opened in two other locations – it was too much expansion in a shrinking industry! Very quickly, we found ourselves in a very difficult financial situation. Again, the future of the ministry was in question as our losses gave us about a year to find a solution. The the Lord, in His timing, provided a solution. We were finally able to sublet our warehouse and store in Brossard and then our sales increased and our expenses decreased. Now, although our survival is still not assured, we are cautiously optimistic of the future of CLC Canada. These experiences and many others are a good reminder that the Lord is present with us at all times and in all circumstances, both good and difficult.
1970 Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
Memories We Cherish:
Rod Fowler Discusses Solutions to Difficult Situations In the mid 1990s, CLC Canada was going
through a very difficult time and, with dropping sales, we were unable to pay our suppliers. CLC owned a property that had been up for sale for quite some time, but no one showed an interest in buying it. Finally, when we were wondering about the future of the ministry here in Canada, the Lord brought along a purchaser who gave us enough to pay off all our debts and revitalize the ministry.
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
Called by God by Cornelia John Baptist (later Martin)
Two and a half years ago,
1947: Dominica Davis Laudat Shares About Evangelism Beyond the Bookshop! Over the past decade, we have seen
a growth in the number of customers due to our many annual activities. One of these is our book table promotions held just outside the bookshop, which highlight the importance of reading good Christian literature – especially the Bible. This has also strengthened our witness through evangelism and our sales. We use occasions such as Easter and the Christmas season to communicate the Gospel to passers-by. We also have CLC broadcasts on a radio station to encourage the public through music and the Word of God. One other way in which we make use of the radio is by playing programmes from the Voice of Life radio station, with music and the Christian message from small speakers at the entrance to the bookshop. All this has been possible because of the faithfulness of our God, Jehovah Jireh. Let Him be praised forever!
I returned to Dominica with great joy to work among my own people. The burden on my heart was how to reach them with good literature. As I prayed, the Lord showed me I should go to the villages and towns with the Source of Light Bible correspondence course. The Lord gave me a wonderful promise from Joshua chapter one, so I went in the strength of the Lord and the Lord did go before. Often I was rejected and mocked when knocking on doors, but I praise God for the many who took the course and Bibles, books and tracts and the Caribbean Challenge [a magazine published for many years by CLC in Jamaica]. I walked many miles each day to reach those hungry hearts with good literature. I shall never forget a youth who said to me, “Miss, I want to live a better life than I do. The ‘Challenge’ is the best literature I ever read in my life”. Praise God for that hungry heart and for the young man and the young woman I was able to lead to the Lord. (Floodtide Nov/Dec 1961)
Ko
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
orea
Finland
Togo
Tanzania Peru
1980 Panama
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1990 Cyprus
Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania, Portugal
Equatorial Guinea
Working Together as the2010Body of Christ
2000 Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Myanmar
Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
Ecuador
Kenya Russia
Switzerland
Bolivia Mexico
1947: Liberia Open for Almost 70 Years! - Even if Only a PO Box Number at Times! CLC Liberia was one of the first countries
to open a bookshop in Monrovia, in 1947, under the leadership of Herb and Marion Congo. The history of the CLC ministry has been chequered by opening and closing at times, mainly due to civil war, but hope has never dwindled that CLC would maintain a presence in this country – even if at times it was only a PO Box that signified our presence. When CLC closed for a number of years (1996-2012), it was a faithful staff member, Isaac Dweh, who kept this CLC postal address active.
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment:
James Cooper shares their Miracle from God during a Very Difficult Year We wish to thank the Almighty God for those
lives that were impacted through our products and services during 2014 – a year which also had its challenges. Sales were not encouraging during the first half of the year, and then there was an increase in the number of Ebola cases; people were dying, everywhere with between 75 to 150 deaths daily. Our government and medical health authorities were overwhelmed. To reduce personal contacts, all schools were closed indefinitely, and Government agencies sent all of their non-essential employees on compulsory leave. Foreign-owned businesses were also closed and their owners left the country. Then the miracle happened – our daily sales in the shop increased! Whether it was because people wanted to be close to God during those trying times or not, we started having customers come into the shop every day and making huge purchases. Since then, our sales continue to be encouraging, and we have many new customers.
USA & Liberia Join Forces for Liberian Pastors’ Summits! In March, 2014, CLC facilitated and supported the first
Pastors’ Summit that was held over a few days in the Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia, Liberia – the church from which CLC rents its adjoining bookshop. This time was greatly appreciated by the 243 pastors who attended, and it was recommended that the meeting should become an annual event. A ‘refresher’ summit was held in 2015; then, in March 2016, a Pastors’ Summit was held once again. Dave Almack and Gerardo Scalante attended the event and Dave wrote afterwards: “Our week in Liberia was spent with Dr. Tony Hart and Pastor Sam Reeves hosting a Pastors’ Summit for 300 pastors. The teaching was rich and varied and greatly appreciated by all. The CLC Liberia team, led by James Cooper, sponsored a large book table every day, and we were able to give away a package of five books from CLC USA Publications to each of the attendees at the end of the week.” One of the pastors who attended the event was in contact with the CLC International Office about a different matter but said the following about the Summit: “The Lord Jesus blessed my life at that conference that I feel I am a new man. I now see ministry goals differently; my leadership style differently; my perception of my family and everything differently. I am saving up for next year’s conference, the Lord willing, to have more pastors and church leaders from my church to attend. I am also sharing the Word with other pastors in my local area.” 7
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Still Open Canada
Liberia, Dominica
Trinidad & Tobago, France
1947: USA A New Development by Dave Almack Jay and Jean Krause became aware of the need for foreign
language Bibles and Christian books in the US more than 30 years ago— so they did something about it. Forming Multi-Language Media (MLM), they began distributing resources in more than 80 different languages to various individuals, bookstores and churches. Approaching their retirement, they recalled the help they had received from Magdi Fahim, Dave Smith and other folks in CLC and WEC in the early days of MLM’s ministry. After some discussion, they ‘gifted’ their organisation to CLC USA. In June, 2016, MLM became a part of the CLC family, and the legacy of the Krause’s will continue.
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: Marge Almack Remembers Finding ‘The Castle’! On Thanksgiving Day in 1950, my family went for an afternoon
drive. My Dad, Ken Adams, had been asked to work with the WEC USA leader to find a new property for the growing ministry. He had heard about a place affectionately referred to as ‘The Castle’, that just might be big enough. It was once the summer home of a wealthy Philadelphia socialite’, but it was in pretty bad shape. Unfortunately, it had been abandoned for a few years and only thieves and looters had been visiting recently. As they pulled up, my Mum, Bessie, hardly wanted to get out of the car as things were in such a state of disrepair with all the windows missing. My Dad however, popped out, looked around and said, “Bess, this place has possibilities. Let’s see if any of the doors are open.” Gently pushing a side door open, Jan and I, loving our father’s adventurous spirit, went running up the stairs to the second floor of the building to explore. We came to a rapid halt on discovering a man with a rope hiding in an alcove. He was obviously up to no good. I screamed for my Dad and the man ran off and disappeared. The Lord gave us (WEC/CLC) the entire property with 66 acres for the amazing price of $60,000, and this once run down ‘castle’ ultimately became the joint home of CLC and WEC and has been the US headquarters location for over 60 years now.
8
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
1950
1940 United Kingdom
Belgium
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
1970
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
1948: Germany Valentin Schweigler shares some CLC Experiences In the late 1960s, Helmut Grospietsch lent some money
to a new Christian so that he could purchase some books. This was a courageous action because the young man was from a ‘red light district’ background and was not yet known personally by CLC. However, the loan bore fruit. Some time later, the man became an evangelist and wrote a book and in that book he mentioned how much this loan from the bookseller had meant to him.
In
1990, together with Martin Duckwitz from CLC France, I went to visit East Germany following the ‘German unity’ and the opening of the border between East and West Germany. I wanted to find out if there was a need for help in literature distribution there, so I put up a book table in a town near Dresden. It was very cold and nobody came to our stall in the middle of a market place. We were praying when, suddenly, some big black Mercedes cars came along. They stopped and out came a senior politician – a minister under Helmut Kohl – and his bodyguards; they were also visiting to evaluate the situation. I think because there were no other people around, the politician attended our ‘suspicious’ stand – where he discovered that we were Christians with Bibles, not people trying to sell unnecessary insurances or other documentation. As it turned out, the politician seemed happy that we were doing this. Praise God!
At the end of 2013, the book Alltagstourist (‘Everyday Tourist’) by Eva Jung was released. CLC Germany was privileged to be the exclusive distributor of this first edition, and it was very successful. This book, along with other publications by the author, has opened doors for CLC to reach a wider audience because of the modern, artistic and thoughtprovoking nature of the book. It is an innovative evangelistic tool and an unusual daily travel diary full of interesting things we can all discover in the normal routine of life.
Ko
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
Tanzania Peru
1980
1990
1948: Uruguay Burkina Faso,
2000 Bulgaria,
Hungary Poland, Romania, Reasons to Give Thanks to God byMyanmar Humberto Urrutia Belarus Portugal As we are celebrating 68 years of ministry in
Panama orea
CLC Uruguay, we want to honour each and every person who has preceded us. We have seen CLC Uruguay sustained and advancing. Even though it has been a small advance, we now have two bookshops, a website and a mobile ministry that covers the country. Most importantly, we also have a CLC team doing this important work, and our prayer is that the Lord will send us more workers so that day by day we can advance a little more. To God be the glory.
Jake and Dena Prins recall their time with CLC We received the call to Christian literature when Ken Adams, founder and Director of
CLC, came in April, 1957, to our Bible School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Jake was a student. In March, 1958, we made the long road trip from Edmonton, Canada, to the Fort Washington Headquarters to become candidates. Then, following the Lord’s leading, we and our two sons, Andy and Tim, then travelled to Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1961. Jake eventually became the CLC Bookstore manager. We returned to the States in 1978 (with a few furloughs in between) when the ministry was passed into national hands. We praise the Lord that, after all these years, the CLC ministry in Uruguay is still going strong! We still pray daily for the CLC ministry.
Uruguay’s Mobile Ministry Gerardo Scalante and his wife Silvia served CLC first in Uruguay, their home country, before moving on to CLC Panama and then working with CLC in the International Office when Gerardo became Regional Director for the Americas.
Other People Who Have Travelled to or from CLC Uruguay Over the Years Include: Betram and Margaret Jones, Doreen Burton, Gladys Brownlee, Pedro and Fresia Vega (from Chile) and Tony and Joan Montague (from the UK). Angel y Sonia Colasa went from CLC Uruguay to CLC Panama, and Arturo Rojas, from Uruguay, became the Regional Director for Latin America for many years. Humberto Urrutia, the current National Director, and his wife Nélida have moved to Uruguay from CLC Chile.
Equatorial Guinea
Current Team Photo
Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
2010
Ecuador
Kenya Russia
Switzerland
1950: Japan
Publishing by Satoru Nakano In 2016, CLC Japan will publish a book
written by Pastor Izuda, who has written two books previously published by CLC. Pastor Izuda is a pioneer in the field of care for the elderly, and his book is written using Biblical text from Paul’s letters. We plan to print 1,500 books in paperback format so the book will not be too expensive, and we hope that many people will be touched by the message in this book.
Interesting History:
Bolivia In 1948, the General Secretary of the
American Bible Society reported that Mexico General D. McArthur [a larger-thanlife and controversial character who commanded the southwest Pacific in World War 2] asked for more copies of the Scriptures to be sent to Japan to satisfy the ‘insatiable demand’ for them there. The Society planned to supply Japan with 1,725,000 Bibles, all of which were printed in Japan. Japanese Christian leaders also asked for two and a half million Testaments and 700,000 Gospels. (Floodtide 1949)
* This book is also significant because the number of Japanese people aged 65 years or older nearly quadrupled in the last forty years to 33 million in 2014, accounting for 26% of Japan’s population.
Website CLC Japan has had a commercial website
for over 10 years. Although sales are small, many people visit the site. Because there are so many publishers, it is hard to manage the site, but we have over 5,000 products available. The website is linked to Facebook, a platform where many publishers and bookstores promote their information. We put out a daily report from our shops with information about events as well, and it has a good reputation among or customers.
Favourite Quotes: Peter Horne (age 14) - Having just seen some slides about Japan at a Crusader class, Peter’s reaction was: “Of course, I’m not going to be a
missionary Lord, but that is where I’d like to go”. Years later, Peter and his wife Joy went to serve the Lord in Japan for 19 years.
9
Quotes, Poems & Special Greetings
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Jamaica
Now Closed
Thomas a Kempis (1380 -1471)
We Never Truly Retire
When Bob Gerry’s daughter asked him
if he had anything he, as a CLC retiree, would like to mention in this magazine, he questioned whether he was in fact retired! Like so many of the CLC staff from the ‘early days’ of the mission, they are still very actively involved! Bob served for 28 years with CLC Japan, becoming the National Director for Japan, then as CLC International Director when Ken Adams retired and after that as Regional Director for the Americas. Now he is serving as a prayer warrior! “As I have been reading and praying through the CLC World, I have been struck by how many countries are served by CLC's ministry. It has been over 25 years since Dorothy and I retired from CLC and yet I still feel a part of your ministry though prayer. May God continue to bless CLC and the work the mission is doing for Him.”
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
“People seldom read a book which is given to them; the way to spread a book is to sell it at a low price. No man will send for and buy a thing which costs even sixpence without an intention to read it.” 10
Scattered Silent Witnesses
Amy Carmichael (CLC Author) Spirit of God, unseal the fast-closed
ear, The blinded eyes enlighten, heavenly Guide, And let the things that do not yet appear Shine through the Book, that Christ be magnified. Spirit of God, O Thou who hearest prayer, Thine are the scattered, silent witnesses. Take Thou each book into Thy watchful care; Make each a minister of righteousness.
The Commission Remains the Same
by Les and Eileen Coley Les and Eileen Coley joined
CLC 70 years ago, and this was their message to the CLC International Office for Christmas 2015: “During this past year, we reached 69 years in CLC and age brings its limitations. However, the commission remains the same — reaching a needy world with Gospel Literature. The Harvest is great! The labourers few! Pray on until the cry goes up, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our God and His Christ’. Amen! Hallelujah! The Lord bless and use you all in some way to this end.”
United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
1950
1940 Still Open
“If he shall not lose his reward who gives a cup of cold water to his thirsty neighbour, what will not be the reward of those who, putting good books into the hands of their neighbours, open to them the fountain of eternal life?”
Belgium
Australia
Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Indonesia Japan
1951: Trinidad
A Fresh Start for CLC Tobago by Sandra Robinson
Tobago is the twin island of Trinidad, with just over 200,000 inhabitants. CLC operated a small outlet here in the early 1980s, but it closed as it did not prove economically viable. It had always been Marlene Ramroop’s dream to re-open in Tobago and, more recently, we were searching for a suitable location and ways to take the ministry there. In September, 2015, and just four months after Marlene’s sudden and unexpected home-call, CLC Tobago became a reality. The shop is managed by Aulene Mitchell, and it is the only Christian bookstore on the island.
Exciting Changes for CLC Trinidad! In January, 2016, Gerardo Scalante and Dave Almack came to view the
work at the stores. For me this was a very timely and strategic visit – a time of preparation to set us on course for the season ahead, particularly as, at the end of 2015, our Prime Minister had declared that Trinidad and Tobago was officially in recession. Gerardo and Dave's visit was an eye opener for me. Although I visualised some of the changes that needed to be implemented, my vision was still limited in some areas and I determined that I was going to learn all that I could from them. Their suggestions ministered to me and, within one month of their departure, although I was supposed to do a business plan for dates of implementation, the majority of their suggestions were already implemented! One change was regarding internet access. Whereas, previously, only the Port of Spain store had internet, all the Trinidad branches now have internet access with laptops and printers. We had a one day training session and now each branch has its own email and Facebook address too. This upgrade has made communications much easier. With new stock coming soon, the stores have already been rearranged to display bestsellers, sale items, etc. visibly at the front of the store and, as our theme for 2016 is ‘Releasing the Glory’, even the exterior of our Port of Spain store has been repainted! We are thankful and grateful to God and for those that He has put on our path to take us through with their prayers and support. Please pray with us that we will not experience any recession; this is our season to press on, soar and advance.
It
Phili
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
1960
taly Barbados, ippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1951: Spain, France
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
1970
Sierra Leone, Panama Special Mozambique Guests at CLC Montpellier by Hervé Lessous Venezuela Colombia Korea In many cities we unfortunately see young girls on the
streets, trapped into prostitution by mafias that promise them regular jobs in Europe as maids or nannies. The young victims in Montpellier are aged from 14 to about 23 and come mostly from Nigeria. A group of volunteers with a ministry called ‘Hope and Joy’ meet these girls on the streets at night and offer them hot chocolate, sandwiches and warm clothes. Since January, 2015, they have also been invited to the mezzanine floor of the CLC bookshop in Montpellier where missionaries share the Word of God with them one afternoon a week. Up to eight come each week – they are not always the same girls but at least one comes very regularly. The missionaries in charge of the Bible ‘study’ are very grateful to CLC for opening their doors and hearts to these girls and have told us that the effect on the girls who come is really positive. We love to do what we can to help, and see our bookshop as a ‘little light’ for the girls in their difficult lives. We care about them, but we know the Lord cares even more.
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1980
1990 Cyprus
Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania, Portugal
Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Myanmar
Central Be Asia 1 Central Asia 2
1954: India
The Initial Years by V. M. Abraham A year before India became independent (1947), a young Indian gave himself to God
and initiated a literature work in Madras, christening it ‘Evangelical Literature Service (ELS)’. For the first eight years it was the personal business of Donald David. In 1954, he surrendered his business to God and joined hands with CLC UK. Within a short period of becoming a part of CLC, ELS began its leap forward, increasing the number of staff and centres. Though nearly all Western missionaries had left within the first ten years of their service, the Lord kept adding committed men and women from within India to this mission. The increase of personnel, centres, publications and distribution – quoted in the words of the late John Silk, the International Secretary of CLC in the 90s – “was like the speed of light years”.
Memories We Cherish:
A Prison Ministry Testimony by Justin Chellapan A man serving a life sentence in prison advised him to pray
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: CLC France’s New Warehouse When Marks and Spencer closed all their shops in France, one of their suppliers
of peaches had to sell its depot next to peach orchards just south of Montélimar. This happened in 2007, just when CLC France was looking for a new site for their HQ and warehouse as their current one was too small. We saw God’s provision in so many ways! The old location, with housing, was sold and all our team members where able to find new housing in the area. We were able to buy the warehouse with extra land— some of which we have used for an extension. Permission was even granted from the Mayor to operate in an exclusively agricultural zone! Alterations to the building were carried out and now we are located on a main road with great visibility instead of being hidden among the trees up a hill between two villages. We lift up grateful hearts to God!
near Chennai for murder had never heard about Jesus before. One day, a Christian worker visited the jail and gave him a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress in Tamil, published by ELS (CLC) India. As the prisoner read the book, he found a transformation taking place in his life. The book was making an impact. One day, while reading the book in his prison cell, he heard the still, small voice of Jesus and received confirmation that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour. He repented of his sins and accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour. True freedom and peace filled his heart. This man met the Christian worker in the prison again and shared with him his salvation experience. The Christian
to Jesus. So he started praying and again he heard the still voice telling him to proclaim the peace which he received to other prisoners. He found the CLC address on the back cover of the book and wrote to us ordering more copies of Pilgrim’s Progress, enclosing his testimony as well. Thus began our project of giving a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress to hungry souls in prison. Later, this same missionary requested our Tamil catalogue and ordered several more books. He reads and then passes these books on to his fellow prisoners. Today, he is still in prison, not as a ‘murderer’, but as a ‘soldier’ for God! 11
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
1950
1940 Still Open United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
1960 India
Outdoor Bookstall by Grace Cheng I would like to tell you a little about the campaign
I attended in the capital city of Djakarta. Pastors were invited from all over Java and the outer islands. Over 1,500 pastors, some accompanied by their wives, came with hungry hearts expecting something from the Lord, and they were not disappointed. Those were days I will never forget. The pastors came from different denominations, but as we prayed together, there was such a spirit of oneness and unity that I have never before witnessed in this land. I had the privilege, and I count it a great privilege, to have a book table to meet the needs of these pastors. At times we had as many as eight people serving at the bookstall, and we were just about mobbed, such was their eagerness to obtain books. (Floodtide Jan/Feb 1968) 12
Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
1956: Italy
A New Venture into Publishing CLC Indonesia both wrote and
Memories We Cherish:
1970
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Netherlands Austria Papua New Guinea
1954: Indonesia
published a new book in 2015 based on the testimony of a family with a son called Jose, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy. It was a big project to undertake, with three CLC teams formed to interview the family, manage the layout and cover of the book, and do the editing. The pressure was on to complete the book earlier than anticipated so it could be launched on Jose’s third birthday. Within weeks of the launch, 700 of the 2,000 copies had already been sold. Praise the Lord!
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Bibles for Refugees by Gary Chamberlin Together with an Italian-American missionary, and
God’s Plans Always Exceed Our Own! It was not ‘planned’ by CLC in
Indonesia but, in 2014, God gave the team an opportunity to take over an existing Christian bookshop that had been in operation for five years. This shop, a corner booth in the ‘City of Tomorrow’ shopping mall, came under CLC management in March of that year although it retained its original name until July when it officially changed to a CLC contract.
What’s in a Name? CLC has always been known,
and officially named, as Yakin in Indonesia but, in 2014, the team made an official change to CLC. It is good to have the shared name, logo and identity, but the previous name said so much! Google’s translation for Yakin is: sure, confident, convinced, certain, assured, satisfied, doubtless, believe, be sure and be confident.
Interesting History:
The Catalyst by Don Teall Don Teal, shares the catalyst 1950 was about Roman Catholicto begin ministry, Holythis Year and the Pope was offering spiritual and temporal rewards to pilgrims visiting Rome from all around the world to celebrate the Jubilee. Two young men in their early twenties, and just out of Bible School, began a three-month bike trek to Italy in the summer of 1950 as a holiday and also to pass out gospels and tracts to pilgrims. This was the beginning of the story which led eventually to the opening of the first CLC bookshop— in Florence, Italy—in 1956, followed by others in eight more Italian cities.
in collaboration with a group of local churches, CLC Italy was able to provide 1,000 English Bibles for a refugee centre. Money was raised from various sources in the USA, and CLC Italy was able to quickly find very economic Bibles for this initiative. Most of the refugees were from various African countries, many of which are English speaking. Even refugees from the Middle East and Northern Africa, who speak English as a second language, were given Bibles. Local missionaries in Sicily distributed the Bibles. This recent initiative, from January 2016, was a real blessing, and we are thankful that we could be involved in a small way during the refugee crisis.
Favourite Quotes:
Shared by Ralph and Alice Leishman, Two outstanding quotes remain fixed in
our memories that have served us well over the years. When we opened in Turin, Italy, in 1989, an Italian elder stated at the inauguration: “It’s fine to begin well, more important it is to end well”. The second quote comes from John Silk, “There is no success without a successor”. Thank God, He has honoured the desires from these quotes by providing Gary and Anita Chamberlin to replace us when we retired.
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1990 1957: Barbados Bulgaria, Central New Leadership Burkina Faso, Hungary Asia 1 Poland, Romania, M arion Manning recently realised needed Central Portugal Myanmar sheBelarus
new leadership for CLC Barbados. Encouraged at a conference to use board members more, Marion invited Rev. Wilbert Charles to her office. Wilbert had worked for CLC years ago and was serving as a Board Member. Marion’s opening comment to him was, “Wilbert, I need your help” and without even a moment's hesitation he replied, "I know I never should have left CLC." At the end of May, Wilbert took over as National Director. Sometimes we only see insuperable problems, while the Lord is already working out the situation.
Encouraging Stories: Promise Boxes by Jefferson Alleyne A customer shopping at our
store came to share with us the encouragement her son-in-law had received from a promise box she had bought for him on a previous visit. She explained that one evening when she, her daughter and her son-in-law were out to dinner, she noticed a lump in his neck. After a series of tests, it was discovered that the lump was cancerous and, when it was time for surgery, he insisted on taking the promise box with him to the hospital. He later spoke of the comfort he had received from reading those promises from the Word of God every day, and this also eventually resulted in his salvation.
Tanzania Peru
A Shelter from the Storm by Marion Manning A young woman came into the bookshop to shelter from the rain and she took the opportunity to browse around the store. This led to a conversation between her and one of our staff about her relationship with the Lord. After another visit, the young lady came to trust Christ as her Saviour. Praise the Lord!
Passing the Message On by Marion Manning Recently I mailed a copy of Rick Warren's What On Earth Am I Here For? to a previous
Governor General of Barbados and he telephoned me to say he had read it and to ask if he could have three more for friends!
Equatorial Guinea
1958: Philippines
2010 Bishop Llana Kenya & CLC’s Oldest Piece of Technology’ by Deedah Macinas Bolivia I want you to meet Bishop Catalino Llana. He is in his 80s and Mexico Russia was one of theSwitzerland first CLC workers in the Philippines. He is still a very active member of many pastoral associations in the Philippines.
I also want to introduce you to the oldest piece of CLC technology, which Bishop Calalino used to great effect – our typewriter! She has been working with CLC Philippines since 1957 and is a hard worker. She fills out forms that could not be filled online, works even when there is no electricity and there are no digital interruptions while writing. She provides instant printing, requires no password and needs little care and no updating of software and programmes. She can be transported and set up anywhere. There is something about the noise and instant results that makes me happy.
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: Making an Impact in Malolos City by DeeDah Macinas We had been looking for a good bookstore location in Malolos City, and it was not an easy job. After looking at various places, we finally went to a shopping mall that was still under construction! We walked around the site and saw a place we thought would be good for CLC.
We then met with the administrator who told us that the space we were interested in had been reserved for a Philippine Games and Amusement company and a deposit had been made to secure the reservation. Romualdo Macinas, Director of CLC Philippines, responded by saying, “Ok, but we will still pray about it.” He then went on to explain that “Whatever we do has an impact on other people. If it happens that you accept the gaming people, what influence or what impact will that have on the whole community? People will learn to gamble, some will rely on gambling to support their lives, and children will learn to play games of chance. What a pity! CLC is a very special kind of bookstore. We are here to serve God through books. We are introducing people to God.” After two weeks, we received a call from the administrator, “Mr. Macinas, the space is yours.” Truly an answered prayer and, since 2010, CLC Malolos has been one of our best selling bookshops.
13
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Still Open Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
1957: Austria of Graz, home to one of CLC’s longest established centres. Our first shop was granted a licence there in 1957, which in itself was a miracle as no new bookshop licences had been granted in Austria for the previous ten years. It followed many years of hard work from both inside and outside the country. Most of the preparatory work in Graz was done by our first Austrian worker, Elizabeth von Ferenchich. Elizabeth was at Bible school in Germany and was surprised to find herself called back to her own country to serve the Lord. After a period of candidate training in England, her sister Helga joined her in 1960. Then, as now, a lot of the work involves taking the books out to the people, first from their home and then from the new shop premises. For many years, Elizabeth and Helga worked alone, developing relationships with local people and university students until Heinrich and Marianne Krauter, from Germany, joined them in 1980. They worked together until a well-earned retirement, and Heinrich continued to run the shop with Olav Kabella until joined by Armin and Edeltraud Heumann in January, 1999. (CLC World, Nov/Dec 1999)
2016 Update: Due in part to the shop location, lack
of managerial staff and the health issues of Armin Heumann, the work in CLC Graz will close down in 2016. We have been working with another group to assist them in opening a multi functioning centre,including a bookshop, in the city. Praise God for the faithful service given over many years by Armin and his wife, Edeltraud, in the ministry of CLC Austria.
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines
1970
Côte d’Ivoire, Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
1958: Thailand
Giving Thanks for Seeds Planted over the Years... Tucked away in the south east of Austria is the town
14
Brazil, Argentina
1950
1940 United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Shop Testimony by Don Velboom CLC Thailand is thankful to God for the opportunities
A Bookshop Encounter by Elizabeth von Ferenchich Here comes the first customer. On
his way to the technical university, this professor passes our shop and regularly buys evangelistic literature to give away to students, colleagues, or others he meets on the bus. Since his conversion two years ago, he has already given away a significant amount of literature. A young man comes in for the first time. While one of us is serving him, the two men recognise each other. Soon they are involved in a serious talk and leave the shop together. The Lord has used the shop to bring together the student and the professor who had previous contact on spiritual things but had lost sight of each other. (Excerpt: ‘A Typical Day in the Bookshop in Graz’, - Floodtide Mar/Apr 1980)
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. Ecc. 3:1 (NLT)
and for the struggles. In the opportunities, we see God move in lives and, in the struggles, we learn to endure. The sales in 2015 have decreased to less than the 2014 sales. But in that struggle, we have seen people come into the bookshop and receive Christ. We can think of four people who were searching and came to the Chiang Mai bookshop. Yongyut, the bookshop manager, had the joy of leading them to Christ. One of the four people was the Minister of Education, so we trust
Memories We Cherish: Energy Plus
Seng Joon lost his father while in his teens, left school to earn money to keep the
family and then became very ill with tuberculosis. While recovering, Seng Joon started to read the Bible, and one verse he read was ‘In the beginning God created all things’. He thought that if God could create all things, then He could heal him. He prayed and, within a few days, he was miraculously healed. Muriel Sjoblom who, with her husband Bob, served with CLC in Thailand, wrote: “I first heard of Seng Joon from missionaries in the north. They said that it did their hearts good to see one so willing to board a bus at 5:00am to get out to markets to sell scripture portions, and this young man was not ashamed to witness. God has given him much wisdom in his work, and he is welcome wherever he goes. Evenings, too, find him hard at it with his bookbags slung over his shoulders, arms and hands full of books and a large poster hanging around his neck. He arrives at the town theatre just as the crowd come out and certainly does a fine job selling his ‘wares’ and gossiping the Gospel. Seng Joon breezes into the bookshop, always joyful, quick of step and action. The Lord has given him a strong body — I don’t think I have ever seen Seng Joon without his shirt wet with perspiration. This is energy plus! Energy, plus the urge of the Spirit in his heart to be ready at all times.” (Edited article from Floodtide Nov/Dec 1960)
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
Tanzania Peru
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
2010
Ecuador
Kenya Switzerland
Russia
Making Our Ministry Known in Chile and Beyond! by Isaac Zuñiga Making our worldwide ministry known in Chile is a slow but steady process and
Good Links Echoing the mission statement that God gave the founders of CLC to make "available to
all nations" the message of the Word of God, here is one of the small steps CLC Chile has made to the fulfillment of this mission during 55 years of CLC service in the country. In the 1970s, a large door was opened to us by the Lord to serve one of the country's largest churches. Each year since then, CLC has had the opportunity to attend two conferences a year run by this denomination, with around 450 pastors, pastors’ wives and church leaders. This denomination does not have its own Bible School/training programme so, in a sense, CLC has provided training and literature for their pastors – books for preparing Bible studies throughout the year, books on leadership and books on family life. In addition, we have opportunities to visit their individual congregations and homes with our mobile ministry bookstore. The faithfulness of this church in buying books and their hospitality to CLC have been gifts from the Lord to CLC Chile.
Mexico
Belarus
International Office
1958: Chile commitment. As well as in meetings that we organise, we are invited to speak about CLC at conferences and churches. Another idea we have implemented is to link each of our bookshops with another CLC country. Both staff and customers are kept informed of our links with other CLC countries and, during July each year, there is the opportunity in the bookshops to give an offering to the specific country that shop is linked to. This has enriched our experience in the mission and has led to further blessing – being sent African outfits from one of our countries and a visit in 2014 by Jacob Mung, Director of CLC Myanmar.
Bolivia
Members of International Office: Neil Wardrope (International Director) and his wife, Sheena (Communications) Gary Chamberlin (Regional Director for Europe) Romualdo Macinas (Regional Director for Pacific/Asia) Gerardo Scalante (Regional Director for Americas) Liz Patten (Regional Director for Africa) Lewis Codington (Director for International Development)
Photo also includes: Cristi Cotovan, Petra Nemansky, Amanda Lutes, Rudy Kuijer and Lloyd Hodkinson (now retired)
Former International Directors:
Ken & Bessie Adams
Bob & Dorothy Gerry
John & Marge Silk
Peter & Joy Horne
Idris & Andrée Davies
Neil & Sheena Wardrope
(1941 - 1974)
(1974 - 1984)
(1984 - 1992)
Special Distribution Programme For over 20 years, CLC Chile has operated a distribution programme
called ‘Impacting Lives’. It is a very simple programme that consists of selecting a book on a regular basis that crosses denominational lines and has good content. The goal is to have at least a thousand units at an affordable price that can be publicised and distributed widely. The most ‘successful’ book of the programme so far is More than a Carpenter, with 140,000 units already distributed.
(1992 - 2002)
(2002 - 2004)
(2004 - 2016)
15
Belgium
Australia
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Jamaica
Now Closed
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Guinea Bissau
1950
1940 Still Open United Kingdom
Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
1959: Papua New Guinea A Ministry that will be Remembered by Vere Babona The work of CLC in Papua New Guinea started in
1959. Maurice and June Thomas from New Zealand pioneered the work under the guidance of CLC Australia. The first bookshop, in Port Moresby, was located at their home, which was known as ‘HAUS THOMAS’. During this time, they continued to have book tables in churches, at public gatherings and in the markets. At the same time, work was in progress on the new bookshop building in the Boroko area. Boroko centre was just a road that passed between a few shops scattered on either side of the street. In 1961, CLC started trading in Boroko, and Harold and Adrienne Hinton managed the bookshop. While they were in Bokoro, the Hintons planted an Okari tree and, years later, the street was named Okari Street!
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: From Witchcraft to Christ by Vere Babona A church bookstall was opened by CLC on the
remote island of Misima, Milne Bay Province, in 1994; it continued for about six years under the care of a local man, Linden Butuna. In 2000, CLC opened its first bookstore in Alotau (the capital of Milne Bay Province). Jack Edwards, from the Boroko shop, was called in to manage CLC in Alotau. One day, he was invited to an outreach programme in a village called Wavar. It was during these two nights of outreach that a well-known local witch gave her heart to Christ. Alotau is known for its witchcraft practices, and it is a matrilineal society where women have more authority, and witchcraft practices keep many people captive. This breakthrough has spread through the community, and the power of Christ has broken the stronghold of witchcraft, although remnants remain, and witchcraft practices continue to decline to this day even though our shop in Alotau closed in 2012. God’s voice continues to be heard, for one plants the seed, another waters it and yet another reaps the harvest. 16
Brazil, Argentina
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
1970
Chile, Thailand Netherlands
Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
1961: Côte d’Ivoire A Mother Figure by Hervé Lessous The last CLC overseas missionary in the country,
Eliane Coste, worked in Côte d’Ivoire for about 15 years before returning to France in 2002. She was called home to the Lord in December, 2015. As well as being a faithful and commited member of the CLC team, she became very much a ‘mother figure’ for many CLC colleagues, including Martine Foto who is the Manager of CLC in Côte d’Ivoire. We praise God for CLC members who are willing to serve overseas and form close bonds with our national workers.
Shop Face-Lift In 2015, CLC in Bouake was given a fresh coat of paint and a new
sign put up outside. Marie Sekongo, the manager, raised some of the money to do this by selling an old cash register for a good price!
History CLC was initially pioneered in Côte d’Ivoire in 1961, but it opened officially in July, 1962. It was one of the first Christian bookshops in the country and contributed to the opening of CLC Burkina Faso, CLC Benin and CLC Togo (now closed). In the heart of the country, the mission of CLC opened in Trechville and Abobo—both in Abidjan—and Bouake and Korhogo. In recent years, the work has closed in Abobo and Korhogo.
Bookfairs by Martine Foto CLC Côte d’Ivoire actively took part in the first ever
International Christian Book and Publishing Fair in July, 2015. This was a very enriching experience which brought together publishing houses and bookshops on the same platform. In November 2014, as a shop manager, I participated in the publishers’ exhibition in Lognes, France. It was an enriching experience, which enabled me to make contacts and develop relationships with the directors of a number of publishing houses and with staff of Livr’Afrique and CLC. All this was to the advantage of the work in Côte d’Ivoire.
Pa Kore
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
anama ea
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
Tanzania Peru
1990
Burkina Faso, 1961: Pakistan Poland, Romania,
Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Publishing Update by Justin Javed Myanmar Portugal
After a long period without publishing new ti-
Equatorial Guinea
2000
2010
Central Asia 1 Central Asia 2
Kenya Russia
tles, we published Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ, in Urdu in 2013. This book has blessed our publishing team and every reader, and was our best seller that year. We also did a reprint, in Urdu, of I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh and started work on translating and publishing Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Faith.
The Sialkot Convention Every September, CLC has a book table at the Sialkot Convention — a large gathering of Christians in the north of Pakistan. It is not an easy task given the distance involved (1,126 km), and it can be a very wet as it is held during the monsoon season. In 2015, the decision to go was particularly difficult because Justin Javed’s wife, Bushra, and baby son, Erwin, were still not fully recovered from the traumatic birth and several weeks in hospital for them both. Justin wrote at the time, “Things seem difficult, but I have decided to go to the Sialkot Convention. Many souls are waiting for us.
Following the Convention, Justin wrote: “The Lord glorified His name through CLC Pakistan. When I arrived at the Convention, there was a prayer meeting going on and I was invited to share the Word of God for the sick and demon possessed. It was amazing as there were many pastors and people with a ministry for healing there, but they asked me to share with 500 to 600 people and they experienced God’s blessing through the precious message. Despite heavy rainfall during two days of the convention, the Lord protected our stock. We had good sales and found new stock for the Karachi bookshop.
Correspondence Courses by Miles and Beryl Sim One of the most fruitful means of outreach is through Bible correspondence courses. Miles
works with the Correspondence School in Karachi. Their board is chosen from different missionary societies, and they have centres in Karachi, Lyallapur, Abbottabad and Sind. From Karachi, they issue courses in Urdu and in English, and Miles corrects the ones in English. Many people take them and there is a good response. The study of the Word really seems to grip the students’ hearts. One young man wrote, “I have accepted Christ as my Saviour and I know that there is nothing I can do for my salvation; Christ has done it all. I only have to trust in Him.” After completing the first few lessons, students receive a New Testament and, later, a Bible. Tracts and other literature are also sent. Those who come to Christ can join a correspondence club, receiving a regular magazine which is a means of fellowship for them.
Such as I have,
I give... Acts 3:6
1961: Antigua Bolivia
Acting on Acts 3:6 by Arah Martin Switzerland Mexico
CLC Antigua was born in 1961, giving
us 55 years of grace and mercy in the beautiful islands of Antigua and Barbuda. We give thanks that the Bible is still the most popular book in the shop — our best seller — and for the freedom we have to put this wonderful book into the hands of our customers. As a result, many lives have been changed. To God be all the Glory! A young man came into the store seeking financial help and, like Peter, we were able to tell him that we did not have silver or gold but what we did have we could share with him. We shared the gospel of Jesus Christ and, right there, he gave his life to the Lord. We suggested a few good churches in his area where he could find a spiritual home, and we also gave him a little money specifically to meet his needs or to invest in something to provide him with a job. We suggested he got a Weed Wacker (a portable power tool used for cutting weeds and trimming lawn edges), and that is what he did. He still comes to the bookshop occasionally.
Favourite Quote: The Advance into Antigua by John Davey It seems that every forward move we have ever made in
the West Indies has been ‘by faith’, which is as it should be, though I confess that the flesh longs for sight sometimes. ‘Safety Saps Spirituality’ is still true, though, increasingly, it seems as though the whole trend is towards ‘earthly security’ and ‘safety down here’, even among Christians. Maybe earthly insecurity... is a better proposition for the spiritual person. So be it. (Excerpt: ‘On a Shoestring’, Floodtide, Jan/Feb 1962)
17
Training Leaders Around the World... CLC’s Links with the Thompson Bible International Institute
The Thompson Bible International Institute (TBII) came into being when, in 1982, Dr. John Jauchen was ministering on a remote island in the Philippines and noticed that good study tools were rare, but in great demand. Dr. Jauchen then looked through the various Study Bibles available at the time and felt that the Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible was one of the best one-volume study tools for people who were teaching and preaching on a regular basis.
The Thompson Bible Seminars, initiated by the TBII, provide intensive training on how best to use this study tool; participants also get their own copy of the Bible to take home with them. CLC in Latin America has been very supportive of, and involved in running, these seminars. Phil Train, the International Co-ordinator for TBII, is a very good friend of CLC in Latin America and has been instrumental in the partnership between the TBII and CLC. He is also a much-appreciated speaker at CLC conferences. The following reports are just a taste of CLC’s involvement in Thompson Bible Seminars from the past few years — taken from information sent by the respective CLC National Directors.
Bolivia
Like Mexico, Bolivia is a fairly new CLC country, but they are already promoting and involved in the Thompson Bible Seminars.
Chile
CLC Chile regularly takes books to one of the prisons in the capital city, Santiago. The
aim is to provide a complete library of reference books for each individual prison block. Claudio, a member of the CLC team, is committed to carrying out this ministry. In 2014, CLC arranged for prisoners to attend a Thompson Bible Seminar, and we praise God for the opportunity to hold this event.
Colombia
Since 2010, CLC Colombia has arranged and
hosted Thompson Bible Seminars and, to date, about 14,000 pastors, church leaders and many other people have been trained throughout the country. In these seminars, leaders are shown how to use the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. It is fascinating to hear testimonies of how the seminars have edified and encouraged people in their pastoral training. Pastors speak of their ministerial life being in two parts – before and after the Thompson Bible Seminars. This year we now have a Colombian missionary prepared to take this training to Spain, Europe and Equatorial Guinea in Africa. 18
Ecuador
In 2015, CLC Ecuador, with support from CLC Panama and in
partnership with the TBII, took the Thompson Bible Seminars to Cuba. Around 300 pastors, evangelists and church leaders attended. Thanks to generous financial support, these seminars, and the Thompson Bibles given out, were completely cost free for participants. The Seminars were led by Hector Burke and David Navarrete (CLC Ecuador). Here is a quote from a Cuban pastor following this event: “...the invaluable Thompson Chain Reference Bible that I now have the privilege and responsibility to have in my home – something that both God and the ministry of TBII have placed in my hands for the glory of God. This Bible has become, from day one, an indispensable part of my life and ministry and also in the life of my family. For me, the Thompson Bible is a very rich gold mine, and an invaluable tool for the ministry of the Word, teaching, missionary work and personal and devotional study.”
México
CLC will start to work closely with the Thompson Bible Seminars in México. The plan is to
have a CLC book table at every seminar held in the country. The Thompson Bible Seminars in México are represented by another ministry but, thanks to the good relationship we have with them in other countries, they are more than happy to allow CLC to partner with them.
Panama
CLC Panama has been involved in supporting Thompson
Bible Seminars for almost ten years, with around 50 events and training for 3,500 church leaders to date. The seminars have reached far and wide in the country, including training for members of the national police force, prisoners and indigenous communities. In 2016, CLC Panama is supporting Hector Burke as he takes the Thompson Bible Seminars to Liberia, in collaboration with APT (African Pastoral Training). Hector is the co-ordinator and a teacher for the TBII and a member of CLC Panama.
Venezuela
We continue with the development of the Thompson Bible Seminars which have been a
boon to the leadership of the Venezuelan Church. For CLC, this partnership with the TBII has been a blessing and has allowed us to continue making the CLC ministry known.
Spain
In 2016, the Thompson Bible Seminars were brought
to Spain for the first time, and CLC Spain facilitated and hosted these meetings that were held in Madrid and Barcelona. A total of 117 Christian leaders benefitted greatly from these events.
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Brazil, Argentina
1950
1940 Still Open United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea
1962: Netherlands
1966: Sierra Leone
The Last of the A Team! by Bertus Keuter Our hearts are full of gratitude because we
Celebrating 50 Years by Donald John The CLC work in Sierra Leone
know that God leads us and that we do not depend on certainties that the world around us is offering. After closing our shop in Arnhem back in 2013, closing the Amsterdam shop in 2015 had a major impact on us. However, we trust in God that He will bring about His plans for CLC Netherlands even if now only through our one remaining bookshop, CLC Apeldoorn. Besides the close daily contact with customers in the shop, we are involved in the annual conference of the Near East Ministries where we always have a large book table. The conference has about 2,000 visitors, including many young people and children. Through the book table, we make new contacts and provide the visitors with good books. It is also a beautiful opportunity to promote the work of CLC. Of course we also have smaller book tables during the year in churches and at local events. Last year, we had the opportunity to be in a church for a special event highlighting children's Bibles. We took a large range of children's Bibles, through the organisation of a publisher who gave us this opportunity, and it was good to be able to present these books and share our experience of working with children’s Bibles.
Memories We Cherish:
Reaching Out A customer was interviewed and
explained how she had been converted. One of her sons had been playing in the street near the bookshop in Amsterdam and was given a booklet which he took home. After reading it, his mother came into the shop and looked around and bought for herself the biography of Charles Finney. The way of salvation was shown in a way she could understand. She came to Christ, her husband followed and then the children — there was a complete change in the family. Hearing of incidents such as this makes the long hours of routine work worthwhile. (Floodtide, May/June 1977)
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1970 Spain, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
began in July, 1966, when a committee from Scripture Union saw the need for a bookshop. The bookshop was established with the intention of fostering good reading habits for Christians. For this reason, CLC opened a reading room, which also served as a means of evangelistic outreach and as a place for fruitful discussion. For some years, an adult literacy project was a feature of the CLC ministry. There was also an extensive mobile ministry in the early days which later closed due to severe economic restrictions in the country. Contact with CLC USA in those early days also led to a partnership which has proved successful over the years.
Encouraging Story: Children in the Bookshop by Alfred KaiKai Alfred KaiKai is the manager of the Circular Road bookshop and
relates this story: “One day some primary school children came in to the bookshop. They had just taken an examination in preparation for moving on to secondary or high school. They came to buy tracts as they were something they could afford. One of the tracts was titled ‘Unloved’. A girl asked, “Does God love everyone in the world?” I said, “Yes, and God loves you as well.” She then explained that she felt her parents didn’t love her as they were always shouting at her and beating her for no reason. She was about 10 years old and was crying as she was saying this. I prayed with her and, when she returned to the shop the following Saturday, I had the opportunity of leading her to Christ. She passed her exams and is now at a school with boarding facilities. We pray that her relationship with Christ will continue to grow as she progresses in life.”
19
Ko
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Still Open Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
India, Indonesia
I started with books stored in the CLC apartment and made visits to the local churches to make CLC’s ministry known and to take their orders. I found premises to prepare and then opened the shop. I needed a co-worker. God supplied when He healed the daughter of a couple who had received me with great kindness. God told me that He would heal her and, in a meeting some months later, He did it! Later, this lady joined me as an excellent godly helper who took charge of the shop when the Spanish CLC leaders left and I had to return to Madrid. Back in Madrid, life gathered pace as we moved from the seventh floor office we had as a shop to a small premises near the Bullring by the inner ring road. Then we were offered the distribution of Vida books and started our warehouse in the garage below the house. Ian Currie found a suitable warehouse in a block of warehouses built by the side of what became an outer ring road. The team grew with more missionaries, and we also opened shops in Vigo, Sevilla, Malaga and Murcia as Spanish workers joined the team. The more recent economic depression has robbed us of three of these bookshops and brought years of struggle to our wholly Spanish team. But the work has adapted and continues.
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
1970 Sierra Leone
1966: Mozambique
Historical Overview by Joan Nicholson Starting in 1971, God gave me 28
wonderful years in Spain enjoying the ministry, and the fellowship of a dedicated team. Shortly after arriving, in a meeting in Madrid, God spoke to me that He wanted CLC to expand to other cities in Spain. Soon after, the Spanish leaders at the time, Jose and Pilar de Segovia, sent me to Valencia to open a bookshop there.
Guinea Bissau
1960
1966: Spain
20
Brazil, Argentina
1950
1940 United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Partnerships in Mozambique by Liz Patten CLC Mozambique first opened in 1966, but closed Fusion of Madrid Warehouse & Shop CLC has had to adapt to the
current difficult economic climate. Darwin Vergel writes: “In 2014, we were finally able to go ahead with our project to bring the wholesale and bookshop properties in Madrid together under one roof. We found a location just 60 metres from the old bookshop, which was just what we needed in terms of space and facilities. Changes have never been easy, and this was no exception because the challenge was to unite distribution and retail in one place with a multifunctional team to cover all areas. We continue to work to improve our service and attention to our Christian family and customers in general, both in person and through our website.”
again due to the civil war. When it reopened in 2001, it was evident that in its second phase, there would be a need for partnerships. Commercial rents were out of range, so we reopened in a Baptist church garage! The garage was conveniently situated near a bus stop and, over the next four and a half years, we paid a non-commercial rent that helped both the church and us. However, the time came when the church needed the bookshop space. Whilst we were delighted for them, this presented us with a dilemma! Then, a Bible School came to our rescue! The Theological Institute of Maputo was so concerned that we might close down altogether that they offered to purpose-build a room for us on the ground floor of their new building. The rent was higher than the church garage, but affordable. Five years later, the shop is a much-valued part of the Theological Institute community as well as serving the public. When we wanted a bookshop in Beira, Mozambique’s second city, it was another Bible College that came to our rescue — the Bible Institute of Sofala. As we consider opening in other provinces, this link with Bible Colleges seems to be a ‘partnership to pursue’ and one for which we are truly thankful!
Maputo Shop: Tackling Termites In 2011, we discovered a problem with the fixtures we had —
termites, lots of them, had been eating bookshelves and books! Most shelves had to be burned, heavily damaged books were thrown out and the shop was fumigated. God provided for our need for new shelving through the help of many people; it was a long journey and a considerable, but worthwhile, wait! CLC UK donated fixtures that were no longer required, volunteers from Birmingham City Mission collected and stored them and more volunteers helped to sort out the appropriate fixtures for our needs and disposed of the rest! Next, they were taken free-of-charge by a company in Northern Ireland to their home depot to be shipped in a container of goods going to Mozambique for another missionary organisation (OMS). After ten weeks at sea and clearance through customs, the fittings went into storage again, courtesy of OMF, just outside Maputo, until they could be brought to the bookshop. What a difference these shelves will make thanks to God’s help through the support and donations of many people.
Pa Kore
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
Tanzania Peru
1990
1970: Burkina Venezuela Faso,
Panama ea
Por-
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment:
TV Publicity for CLC For one week in May (1975), a Billy
Graham programme was relayed on television at 10:30pm each evening. At the end of the programme, the telephone number of CLC Barquisimeto was flashed on to the screen and viewers were invited to ring for a free book or for help and advice. Cynthia Harbert (manager at the time) reported that over 250 telephone calls were received during the following days from many parts of the city. (Floodtide Sept/Oct 1975)
2000
Bulgaria,
Romania, by YohelHungary ReachingPoland, Thousands Peña Every year, during theMyanmar month ofBelarus August,
the International Youth Congress is celebrated in the city of Merida with the participation of different people from Christian media, such as writers, singers and speakers. Over five days, thousands of young people come together from different cities in Venezuela and beyond. CLC Venezuela participates in this event every year with a range of resources which we have available for churches and individuals for their spiritual growth.
The International Book Fair, linked to the University of Carabobo, takes place in one of the busiest and biggest shopping centres in the city of Valencia. Over 80 national exhibitors and international guests participate. During the nine days of the book fair, there are book presentations, cultural activities and workshops, and over 400,000 visitors attend. CLC Venezuela has been able to participate in some of these Book Fairs, taking the opportunity to make Christian literature available and to present the ministry of CLC.
Praying for Protection Insecurity is one of the problems that has been growing in
Equatorial Guinea
Venezuela, and the commercial shopping centres have been trying to find ways to maximise security for staff and shoppers in these areas. However, despite these efforts, we are always hearing sad news reports regarding these public areas. In the Ivon shopping centre, where our Barcelona bookshop is located, we can testify to God’s protection and His continued care for us. One day, the niece of the owner of the shopping centre visited and she told us that she was completely sure that God was looking after the bookshop because it had remained open and safe—in fact, she thought that our prayers for safety had protected the whole commercial centre. She thanked us for our prayers — and we always do ask God to watch over each CLC bookshop and pray for the landlord of the building. God is faithful and we give Him the Glory.
1973: Colombia Ecuador Benin
Central Asia 1 Social Foundation Central Asiaby 2 David Bangladesh Pabon
CLC Colombia has a
social arm to its ministry that is committed to helping the most vulnerable in society: defenseless children; single mothers; victims of violence; persons deprived of liberty; and the elderly and ethnic minorities, among others. We do this through humanitarian action, training and spiritual guidance. This is an opportunity to show the love of God, not only in distributing Christian literature, but also in meeting basic needs for food, education, health, housing, clothing, recreation, etc. Currently, we also support social community kitchens, addiction centres, evangelistic work in prisons and training for pastors, leaders and believers with an emphasis on both social and spiritual development. *Although this Social Foundation is a requirement by law for Colombian companies the size of CLC, our team loves this aspect of their ministry! They always go above and beyond what the law requires; serving with their whole hearts.
Reminded of God’s Faithfulness Among many stories, there is one that
touches our hearts, reminds us of God’s faithfulness and reaffirms the purposes that he has put in our hearts. It has to do with the missionary Sophie Müller who, in the 1940s, dared to brave the dangerous journey through the Colombian interior to reach the Native Americans living in the Amazon jungle and, in particular, in the Guainia region. At one point during her years in Colombia, Sophie stayed for a while in the home of Patrick Symes, the founder of CLC Colombia, and this reveals a principle of CLC to support missionary
work. Efforts to support this particular work have continued now for 40 years, through donations from CLC that are helping to pay for the theological training of the indigenous Guainía Christian leaders, for fuel so that journeys around this region can continue to encourage and support Christian leaders, and finance to support the local people who are assisting translators working to produce the Scriptures in native languages.
What’s Up With WhatsApp? A woman came to one of
our bookshops in search of a book for her daughter and a member of staff suggested Created to be His Help Meet, by Debi Pearl. The book made such an impact on the woman who received it that she decided to create a network of friends on WhatsApp where they could share excerpts from the book. This has generated a wave of interaction, and the network continues to grow to the point that today there are more than 2,000 women involved in Colombia and abroad. Now these women have decided to have their first international meeting, using the auditorium of our CLC headquarters in Bogota, to celebrate the opportunity to grow together through this book that has influenced their lives. We praise God and give glory to Him for allowing us to be the instrument that put this book into the hands of a woman who used it to transform the lives of others. 21
Opening Dates of CLC Countries: Now Closed
Australia
Belgium Jamaica
Children’s Publications 1950 For the first time in 2015, we
published three picture books Can- for young children, entitled Look United ada Kingand Find: Exciting Adventures in the Bible. They consist of Old and New Testament stories and the Christmas story. This came about when Copenhagen Publishing House suggested publishing their books in Korean. We surveyed the costs involved and also the market conditions for sales in Korea and A Short History: With Two Beginnings by Young Ho Park decided to accept the suggestion. First of all, CLC Korea would like to congratulate The whole process of printing and CLC on its 75th Anniversary! This year marks the binding was done in China, and 41st anniversary of CLC Korea. We are counting the books were then transported the date from November 1, 1975, when Dr. Youngto Korea. This worked out to be a Ho Park was recognised as the official founder cheaper way to produce this kind member of CLC in Korea. However, CLC had been of book than printing it in Korea. in existence in Korea as far back as 1955, under It was an adventurous challenge the leadership of several missionaries. Therefore, because children’s books are quite it is fair to say that Korea has walked almost as unfamiliar to us. We have not dealt long a journey in spreading the Word of God with such picture books before as through literature as CLC countries opened in its we had only published theological first decade. or devotional material since the In 1985, CLC Korea was officially recognised establishment of CLC Korea. So as a non-profit organisation by the Korean far, the sales are good enough for government. Two years later, in 1987, CLC Korea us to consider the possibility of constructed a four storey building in Bangbaepublishing more children’s books Dong, Seoul, by the grace of God. We are in the future. continuing our mission from the same place even today. From the beginning, CLC Korea focused on publishing. Dr. Park taught at the Korean Bible University, and many of his colleagues, who had studied abroad, wanted to translate and publish books they had used to teach their students. With the passage of time, even the students became professors, and the demand for publishing continued. In this way, CLC Korea became more of a publishing house and, naturally, publishing theological texts primarily for seminary students became our niche. We have published over 2,000 titles in this time.
1975: Korea
22
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
1976: Panama
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Egypt
Cameroon Gilbraltar
1960
Chile,Fire by Sara Italy and a Raging Côte d’Ivoire, India, Early Days de Gracia Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Indonesia Barbados, CLCPhilippines, started in Panamá in 1977. We took over an existing Austria Papua New Guinea Netherlands
bookshop, belonging to LAM (Latin America Mission) and run by David Ecklebarger, who also became founder and President of the Spanish publishing house, Editorial Unilit. The Panama bookshop was there primarily to serve Americans running and maintaining the Panama Canal at that time. The beginnings were not easy, partly because a large percentage of the inventory was in English, which was gradually changed over to Spanish. In 1985, Angel Colasa and his family moved from CLC Uruguay to direct and expand the work in Panama and then, in 1992, Gerardo Scalante, together with his family, also transferred from CLC Uruguay to oversee the next phase of CLC Panama. In May, 1993, just a few months after the arrival of the Scalante family, a raging fire consumed the entire block where the bookshop was located. The CLC property was partially burned and, although most of the inventory was not affected directly by the fire, the ashes and soot and the water used by the firemen affected everything. Plans were made to reopen the bookshop. The sale of damaged stock, at special prices, generated some funds for expenses, and donations were sent in, both local and from CLC. There was no insurance policy for fire damage. CLC Panama opened again, about three months after the fire, in another part of the city. The rental costs were higher, but the favour of the Lord was on His work with the impact of the ‘new image’ bookshop, sales and many new customers from all walks of life.
Encouraging Story: Staff Testimony from Margiee Jordán, CLC Panama City I have been serving the Lord in the ministry of CLC Panama
for five years – years in which I have been blessed by God in different areas: spiritually, in my family life, financially and, above all, with the beautiful blessing of my 12-yearold daughter, Nathalie, who was born with cerebral palsy. The Word says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I have seen this promise of God become a reality in my life as I serve Him in CLC. We have seen provision in such miraculous ways through the ministry. One example is that a year ago God gave us our own house which, with my salary, could never have been obtained, but God uses people to bless His children when we serve. God is faithful and I could write a book with all the testimonies of what God has done in my life. I thank God for CLC Panama and for the privilege to serve with you in this beautiful ministry that is undoubtedly born in the heart of God.
Colombia
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
Tanzania Peru
1980
1990 Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania, Portugal
2000 Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Myanmar
1981: Cyprus We’ve been here Much Longer than This! by Sotos and Eva Photiades CLC opened in Cyprus in 1981 but, in fact, as with CLC in some other countries (see Korea), our links with a Christian bookshop here go much further back than this. Since 1964, CLC was associated with the work of a Christian bookshop in Limassol, where CLC personnel were involved. In 1981, CLC was approached about taking on full responsibility for the shop—at that time the only Christian bookshop on the island.
On-Going Relationships Over the years, the bookshop has built an ongoing relationship
with many local churches and missions. Being the only nonorthodox Christian bookshop in Cyprus, we have been blessed in being the sole provider of literature and other necessary materials for a variety of church groups and missions as well as individuals. This literature includes Bibles, tracts for outreach and devotional calendars. For example, a Russian sister spent five hundred Euros to start off a library in her local Russianspeaking church. Another sister sets aside a budget for buying her gifts from the bookshop; she considers this work as part of her personal ministry. Also at the end of the year, various churches pre-order devotional calendars from our bookshop for distribution as gifts and as part of their local outreach. Instead of ordering directly from the supplier, many prefer to order through our bookshop. Recently, the demand has unexpectedly increased and we had to order again and again. Some of our customers said that they were very much helped by these devotional calendars through the year and they were very eager to have the current issue.
Online Orders The bookshop first launched its website in 2005 with the help of Alexis, a brother from our local church. It was slowly populated with a catalogue of products by copying and pasting product descriptions and images from other supplier websites as new items arrived and were added into the local stock. Having an online catalogue of our stocked products, and being the only source for Christian products on the island, has meant customers living one to two hours away in some of the other major cities could now browse our site and make their orders by phone (and online since 2015). Due to our frequent weekly travels to other cities for ministry, we are also able to deliver straight to the homes of some of our distant customers.
Equatorial Guinea
More ‘Forever Grateful’ Moments 2010
Take an Urdu Bible
Ecuador Central by Roseleen Macdonald Kenya Bolivia Benin Asia 1 George and I were going to a convention in South India but before leaving the Lord had said Central Asia 2 Bangladesh Switzerland Mexico Russia
to me, "Take an Urdu Bible". Urdu? I thought. There are not many Urdu speakers in the south. We put the large Bible in our cabin luggage, rather than the tin trunk in the plane's hold, just in case there was a Pakistani we met on the journey. However, we did not meet the person the Lord had told us to give the Bible to on the journey or during the conference. Our last few days in India were spent in Chennai — known then as Madras. As we walked into the ELS (CLC) HQ, an elderly gentleman was there as another guest, wearing the typical blanket over his shoulders of a north Indian. "That's him", the Lord said. The man was so amazed. He had been a shepherd but was now a village pastor serving thousands of miles north of where he sat that day. He was longing for an Urdu Bible of his very own. Writing this all these years later, what a joy to remember how God wonderfully answered that shepherd pastor's prayer.
Changing the World, One Book at a Time by Dave Almack
A man who looked older than a typical college student approached our Urbana booth and noticed our CLC logo. He stood back for a minute and then approached me and said “CLC- I Love Corrie ten Boom”. He then shared the rest of his story. He had been in prison not long ago and was now looking to see what God might want to do with the next season of his life. While in prison, he had written to us looking for some free books. One of our team members sent some books, including ‘Prison Letters’ by Corrie ten Boom. He said that these books had changed his life and that this was one of the ways that God had turned things around for him. He was so grateful and we were so blessed— what a divine appointment!
Healed for a Purpose by Sandy Sanderson
When I offered to CLC to work in North India, I was told that my arthritic hip excluded me from service overseas, but I would be considered for work in the UK. From acceptance into CLC in 1949, I had been receiving treatment for my arthritis but at the UK Annual Conference in 1956, that and other things changed! The speaker for the devotional sessions was Ivor Davies of WEC who shared something of the Revival in the Congo... not the blessings... but the cost! As he told of the working of the Holy Spirit within the mission and local church, the agenda and timetable were ignored as people got right with God and with one another. There was confession, restoration, restitution and healings — mine among them. When Ivor and Pa (Fred) Whybrow laid hands and anointed me, I knew immediately that I had been healed. Someone said. “The Lord turned us upside down, but He brought us down the right way up!!” CLC was transformed, and so was I. Later, when my mobile outreach ministry involved travelling throughout the UK in a trailer caravan all the year round — reaching out through market stalls and agricultural shows in all weathers — I knew that without the healing in 1956 I would not have been able to cope physically. The Lord does all things well. 23
Margin
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Still Open Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
1985: Portugal High Street Outreach: Two Stories From Carlos Cunha “CLC Portugal started an evangelistic programme as a follow up to the counselling ministry already offered in the bookshop to non-believers. We called the programme ‘Chronological Bible Study’; it was Bible teaching, evangelistic in purpose, to give people a panoramic view of the Bible, taking into account all different perspectives — historical, geographic, linguistic, etc. The project ran from 2009 to 2013 and, over this time, more than 15 people accepted Christ into their lives and are now serving in several evangelical churches in the city of Coimbra. Praise the Lord!” “Every year, CLC Portugal participates in the city Book Fair, and the local council always offers to cover the cost of our bookstall and asks us to help them with the programme! We offer the only bookstall there that has live music for people passing by. We ask well known national singers to sing and play there, and they also have the opportunity to share their faith in Christ as well. The council is very happy because they have good music included in their programme at no cost to them.
The Power of the Printed Page About 40 years before CLC Portugal was launched, literature work was, of course, carried
out by others. Here is an unusual example: A man turned up at the Vieira de Leiria dispensary one day saying that on the previous day, when on the neighbouring beach, he had noticed a bottle floating on the waves. Having got hold of it and opened it, he discovered it contained papers in a foreign language – or languages. However, as he turned them over, he came across something in Portuguese, which was John 3:16, on a sheet entitled ‘Good News in 20 Languages’ issued by the Printed Page Evangelistic Society of Belfast. The man knew that religious services were held in the dispensary so he thought someone there would be able to explain the mystery of the bottled papers. Thus, Sr. Veiera was afforded a good opportunity to tell him of Christ crucified and to supply him with Gospel tracts in Portuguese. (Excerpt: ‘Clippings’, Floodtide Jan/Feb 1947)
24
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
1950
1940 United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
1970 Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
Venezuela
Colombia
1991: Romania God Has Kept Us by Ronela Micula CLC was one of the first missions to
operate on a regular basis in Romania after the 1989 revolution and the end of 42 years of communist rule. While it was a time of incredible freedom, which we did not even dare to dream of before, it was also a time of complex economic, social and political upheaval and the conditions gave rise to widespread corruption and the subsequent collapse of the Romanian industry and economy. CLC Romania grew and developed despite the difficult conditions and, while thousands of companies closed down over the intervening years and with about a quarter of the population moving to other countries, we survived while swimming against the tide — without illegal commerce and paying all the taxes. We praise God that we are still here with two bookshops, a warehouse and a small publishing house. In a sense it is a miracle, and when people seem surprised that we are still able to operate, we can only reply, ‘We are here because God kept us’.
Resurrecting Publishing From the start of CLC in Romania, we
had the privilege of being involved in publishing, but with changes in personnel and in technologies, we slowly declined as a publishing house and were left with a lot of old and ageing stock of good books that
we could not sell. We knew we needed to revive this ministry but didn’t know where to start. Then God opened doors for us and gave us opportunities for a new start. A publisher suggested that CLC got involved in a bilingual co-edition of a beautiful Bible for children. At that time we did not have either the ‘know-how’ or the resources for it, but we accepted it as a challenge and as an opportunity, and we started to work. God was faithful and blessed our work and, in 2009, the Bible was published, becoming the best selling book for CLC Romania. This led to many more publishing opportunities. We accepted every opportunity as a gift from God, even if it required more work, learning new skills and developing a lot of courage and confidence. We have published about 50 titles and, right now, we have several more titles, including The Reason for my Hope by Billy Graham and You and Me Forever by Francis & Lisa Chan, in different stages of the translation and publication process.
Korea
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
Tanzania Peru
1980 Panama
1990 Cyprus
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Myanmar
Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
2010
Ecuador
Kenya Russia
Switzerland
Bolivia Mexico
1991: Poland Memories We Cherish: A New Surname
In Africa, people’s names are very important
1991: Burkina Faso A Gift of Books Back in 2012,
CLC France made a gift of some books to CLC Burkina Faso, and many of these were distributed as an outreach to those in need of Christ. Prosper Weda, Director for CLC in French West Africa, wrote at the time: “God is good! Among others, the elected President of Burkina Faso received the CLC France publication, Naviguer par la Grâce* by George Verwer. We were sent an appreciation letter from the President's Office, and CLC France can take pride in the gift they gave!" *In English, this book is titled Drops from a Leaking Tap.
and significant. Not all names that are given are edifying, but others are—both on a spiritual and on a professional level. Sami Luc Noufé sends the following story from his early days with CLC in Burkina Faso: “At the end of my probation period in September, 1992, our dearly beloved ‘Mama Lotti Riegg’, the first Director of CLC French West Africa, who has gone ahead of us to her celestial home, called a meeting of the staff. In the meeting, she asked me what lessons I had learned from my time on probation. After sharing my good impression of the team and the customers, I said that I had learned that I am a ‘servant-server’: a servant because first of all I am called by God to serve Him, and a server because I am at the service of the customers. As a servant of God, I must respond to His demands, and as a server, I must also respond with joy to the demands of the customers, even if some of them are complicated. Positively surprised by such a lesson, Mr Alphonse Nkusi, the Manager of CLC Ouagadougou, surnamed me ‘Servant–Server’, a surname that I accept because if we look at our Lord Jesus Christ, we can see that He was also a Servant–Server.”
Intern, Ben Saxe (USA) went to
Burkina Faso for the summer of 2013. He was of great assistance to Prosper Weda, in helping him to improve his English!
It All Started With Books by Tomasz Kalisz Always a great lover of books, I eventually came to a personal
faith in Christ through reading Scriptures and Christian books. A strong calling to a literature ministry was in my heart from the beginning of my Christian commitment, though in communist Poland, this was more a dream than a reality! Using any occasion to do what I could with books, I got involved with an evangelical publisher. Travelling to West Germany (at that time there was East and West Germany) during the summer holidays, the first steps I took were to make phone calls to any local Christian bookshop to share my vision to serve the Lord in one! When visiting Hamburg in 1988, I entered the doors of ‘Evangelische Buchhandlung’ and met the late Mr. Grosspitch, who informed me that the bookstore belonged to CLC. He gave me a CLC magazine (Floodtide) and the address for Alasdair Cameron, who was at that time the Overseas UK Director. In 1989, the first non-communist government was appointed in Poland. It was then that I visited CLC UK, together with a friend (who later became a CLC Board member), and met the UK Director at that time, Roger Page, and John Silk who was the International Director. As a result, a research trip to Poland was made in 1990 and a decision was made for CLC to get involved. I went on the UK candidate course later that year. In early 1991, the CLC Foundation of Poland was registered; in 1992, a property for the bookstore was purchased; and, in 1993, the first ‘Central and Eastern European’ CLC Bookshop, in Katowice, was opened.
Publishing Progress by Gary Chamberlin For the past four years we have been steadily working on growing our CLC publishing, and
we are delighted to have released 20 important titles in that time. Evangelicals in Poland make up less that 1% of the population, so print runs need to be small, and this puts even more pressure on costs and potential profit margins. However, we have been blessed by many donations from various sources which have helped us to expand quickly in this new endeavour. We are very encouraged to see the impact our CLC Publishing is having in the lives of so many people and that many of the titles are truly appreciated! We trust the Lord that there will be many more opportunities such as these in the future years! 25
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Now Closed
1940 Making the Message Global
Senegal, Guyana, Ja-British Honduras
Canada
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Egypt
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
1950
Still Open Kingdom ‘The Digital Age’ by Neil United Wardrope
Brazil, Argentina
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Japan Tobago, France
India, Indonesia Colombia
In 2003 I went to Romania and met a young man who claimed to have built a website. Not only that, he had integrated a point of sale and accounts package so that it all functioned seamlessly. I enquired where he had bought the system and he had to explain, repeatedly, that he had built it himself – until I finally got the message.
18 Countries / 8 Languages It was my personal wakeup moment that we needed to grasp the opportunities and challenges of the digital age. The young Romanian — Cristi Cotovan — was encouraged to build a website platform, not only for Romania, but also for many CLC teams around the world. The outcome, to date, is a website that operates in 18 countries in 8 different languages, with the ability to share data between them. And four more sites are currently under development.
One Million People
Websites have an incredible power to reach people who are not customers in our bookshops. In 2015, the combined total of visits to all our websites was well in excess of one million people from all around the world. The sales generated through these channels account for around 5% of our global sales. In some countries the website is now the biggest shop.
The eBook Challenge
The next step is to take advantage of the eBook revolution that has surged in recent years. CLC USA Publications reported significant sales increases of their eBooks until 2015 when they appear to have reached a plateau.
eReader Apps
Until relatively recently, none of us knew what an app was. Now they dominate much of our lives! Via my mobile phone, I can access my emails, read the news, check the weather, tune my guitar, stay connected on social media AND download eBooks to read on the CLC app! Currently available on Apple, the app will soon be launched for Android.
eBook Websites
The first website www.clcebooks.com is already active and the intention is to make the same eBooks available on many of our existing websites. Customers will be able to see and buy eBooks in many different languages. Due to the nature of the internet, we can see that this really does enable us to ‘Make the Message Global’, thus helping us fulfil the Great Commission. 26
1992: Myanmar
The Early Days by V.M. Abraham “In 1990, a young Burmese Theological graduate
from an Indian Bible Seminary approached the Evangelical Literature Service (CLC) in Chennai, interested in involving himself with literature evangelism. Jacob Mung, then 26, was given intensive training for about a year under our personal supervision and guidance and, in 1991, he was commissioned by ELS for the work of the Lord in his own country, Myanmar. It was a work of faith, and by trusting the Lord he reached Yangon and started the work with just a few books that he could carry with him. There were no earthly resources he could rely upon. We had assured him of our prayer and fellowship. The Lord was with him, meeting every need even though at times his faith was put to severe test. Part of an old building in central Yangon, purchased by CLC in 1993, served as a bookshop. In those initial days, the few books and Bibles that were made available had to be hidden away at the rear of the shop while the front area appeared as a shop selling Coca-Cola! At that time, no Christian activity could be carried out openly. My first visit in 1992 was allowed only through a government authorised tour company, and there was no freedom to move about except under the watchful eye of the government tourist guide.” *From a CLC Report in 1992, Jacob’s plan for that year was to distribute a minimum of 1,000 Bibles. Huge faith and vision for a first year considering all the restrictions!
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: The First-ever Burmese Study Bible “A Study Bible for new believers in
the Burmese language is desperately needed!”, shared Jacob Mung with British author Martin Manser in 2013. Martin and his co-author/ editor, Mike Beaumont, began developing the study notes and helps for this Bible. Both men were very aware of the discipling needs of the Burmese people due to their strong connections with the nation. In 2015, the final ‘English’ version was completed and handed over to Jacob and his team to begin translating. It will be published In 2017—so watch this space!
Recent History Praise the Lord, the situation since
those early days has changed. In 2009, CLC was recognised by the government as a publisher and Jacob was given a licence to publish books in any or all of the Burmese languages. To date, CLC has published 220 Burmese titles, including translating and publishing major titles, such as The Lion Bible Hand Book and The Bible Dictionary.
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Finland
Togo
Tanzania Peru
1980 Panama
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1990 Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania,
Cyprus
Portugal
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Belarus
Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
2010
Ecuador
Kenya Russia
Switzerland
Bolivia Mexico
1993: Hungary 1993: Bulgaria
The Story of CLC by Zsolt Karpati Christian books were banned in Hungary under
Starting to Publish by Lidia Dimitrova Recently, CLC Bulgaria has started publishing books with the
encouragement of Gary Chamberlin (CLC Regional Director for Europe) and with financial help from the International Office. Without this support, it would have been impossible. This project is a great challenge for us and an opportunity to grow – both spiritually and as a CLC team. We are in the process of translating and publishing two books by Francis Chan, Crazy Love and You and Me Forever.
Our Third Team Member David Anachkov started helping in the bookshop as a 16-year-
old and continued to support the team and ministry until he left in 2014. To our joy, David came back to CLC again six months later — early in 2015. He is like a pillar to the existence, maintenance and development of our website and all the social media connected to it. A high percentage of our sales comes through the website. David is also a source of ideas in every area of our ministry and is a great blessing to our team.
Interesting History:
A Landmark for CLC A landmark in our CLC history
was the purchase of a shop property and moving there from our previous rented property in 2005. It was the biggest project of our ministry in Bulgaria — and a great miracle! We are thankful to God and to everyone who contributed to the financing of this project through CLC International Office.
A Miracle Moment For a few years the CLC book bus, used to
distribute Christian literature around the country, had been unused because we did not have the resources — financial or human — to maintain and operate it. We prayed about this and really hoped to find someone we could give it to. We did not even dare to hope that we could sell it. Our desire was that it should serve once again as a bus for bookselling because it was adapted for that purpose, but that seemed to be an impossibility. We will never forget that moment in 2011 when a miracle happened and we sold the bus to the biggest Christian publisher in the country! Today it still serves its purpose in the distribution of Christian literature for God’s Kingdom in Bulgaria.
A Great Sale: And an Even Greater Attitude!’ “One afternoon a young lady entered the Budapest shop. When I asked if I could help her, she said she was ‘just browsing’. However, this browsing lasted for about an hour and a half, and I was amazed that her shopping basket gradually filled up completely with books. Finally, she came to the counter to pay. Probably my amazement could be read on my face as she had done more than ‘just browse’. The lady explained that she has just started working and she wanted to spend her very first salary in our bookshop! The sum was extraordinary, but her attitude exceeded it!”
Communism – just as in all the other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The only way to get them was to smuggle and distribute them illegally. After the change in the political system, it became possible to officially publish religious books of any kind without the approval of someone from the government. Thus, the first official publishers started their work and soon two people from CLC (Dave Birchall, the Regional Director at the time, and Heiner Rindisbacher, who was working temporarily in the CLC bookshop in Austria) investigated to see if they could open a bookshop in Budapest. They prayed for guidance on a hill overlooking Budapest and made contacts with local churches. The Rindisbachers then moved to Hungary and, with the help of a Hungarian couple, the ministry started in 1993. A year later, our first shop was opened. It was the very first interdenominational bookstore in the country. Our work later grew to three bookshops and a website – and we are now taking the first steps toward publishing.
Unexpected Evangelism in Miskolc There is a well-known figure in town who often goes around shouting wildly to anyone on the streets and also begs for food or money. He might have heard about Jesus through a particular book written by a Hungarian author, People Around the Cross. This man came into our shop one day requesting several copies of that book. He said he didn’t have the money but would soon have enough – and he came back some days later to pay for the books. Since then, he has returned for more copies, and it would seem that he is giving these copies away.
27
Australia
Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium Jamaica
Interesting History: Uruguay, USA,
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
1950 Trinidad &
Tobago, Germany Dominica, Celebrating a Bible Publication in 1564! Japan France Liberia UnitedCanada KingdomIn 1564, the Brest Bible was published.
1994: Belarus Open in the Evenings by Lina Pinkevich We are pleased that the CLC premises are working extra time in the evening! At the moment, one senior and two youth Bible Study groups are held at CLC Belarus.
Progress CLC Belarus was initiated by CLC UK in the
1990s, and it has been a privilege to witness the development of the ministry over the past 22 years. We can see tremendous growth — and count God’s blessings! When CLC Belarus started, there were just a few Christian books in the Russian language and most of them were printed outside of what had been the Soviet Union. CLC Belarus has now made its own contribution towards increasing Russian language Christian books with 8,800 Bibles, 13 new book titles, 40,000 calendars, about 100,000 post cards and some other miscellaneous gift items produced by CLC Belarus. We also published a series of 15 titles of Spurgeon’s sermons translated by CLC. All the progress of the work was possible with the help of CLC International, CLC UK, CLC Hungary and gifts from different people around the world. It seems that these are just statistics of the business progress — but no, God’s miraculous works and saved lives are what count in the end! 28
This is also known as the Radziwill Bible as it was published with funding from Prince Nicholas Radziwill. Lina Pinkevich writes: “A historical performance, entitled The Bible of Prince Radziwill, was organised by the evangelical church in Minsk and was enacted in Brest in 2016. There was a huge advertising campaign for the production, and CLC Belarus had their logo included in the material — three large billboard signs in the city and leaflets handed out to many people and distributed on buses. CLC also sold tickets for the event. The performance was excellent and showed Prince Radziwill’s conversion and how it influenced the political and economic situation in the country; the gospel was proclaimed extensively.” *It is also interesting to note the Radziwill family motto is “God advises us”.
Announcing the Birth of a Book We are pleased that in
2015 our ‘baby’ — the children’s Good ABC Book — was ‘delivered’ from the printing machine. It is a colourful book with Bible stories and little verses that are connected with the Russian alphabet. Children and their parents love the book very much.
Brazil, Argentina
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Egypt
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
1960
India, Indonesia
1996: Central Asia #1
Chile, Italy Côte d’Ivoire, Spain, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Sierra Barbados, Glory toAustria God! WePapua Continue to Work byNetherlands the National Director Leone, Philippines, New Guinea
A few years ago, a new religious law was passed which
limits opportunities for Christian churches and other faith organisations. Many missionaries have been deported, and those who remain are observed by law enforcement bodies. It is now very difficult to register a Christian church; to be more precise, at the moment it is impossible. But glory to God! We continue to work. There is no pressure on us from the authorities, and it is not forbidden for us to sell Christian literature. We are open to the public and strategically located in the centre of the city, near to government ministries and the university.
The First CLC Bookshop in Central Asia by Ed Keene The USSR had just recently collapsed and virtually all the departments and functions of
government had melted away. Even the system of laws had ceased to exist at the practical level. Everyone was left to do as they deemed necessary. Earning a living became almost impossible, and infrastructure of any kind began to seriously deteriorate. Spiritually, it was a very dark and hopeless place. Suicides were epidemic. Though nominally a Muslim land, in fact, religion had very little influence in peoples’ lives. They had been forced to abandon their traditional language, culture and religion. These conditions proved to be fertile soil that the Lord had prepared for the preaching of the Gospel. We bought a small ground floor apartment and converted it into a bookstore. There was at first no legal way of getting Christian literature into the country, so we began by smuggling our stock on trains from Moscow. One dark morning we were discovered by a customs officer and it seemed we were in a lot of trouble. Providentially, at the same time, a person who was loading his contraband computer next to us attracted the attention of the customs officer as well. Since he could expect a larger ‘fine’ from the man with the computer, he let us go. When this happened, we realised that God could provide a legal way of importing books if this store was really His doing. We decided we would no longer be smuggling, but we would trust God to provide. This He did. Not long after this, we received a shipping container of books from Grigori Torchillo from CLC in Belarus. People came from all over Central Asia to get our books. There was not another source of Christian literature within 1200 miles!
Books Outside the Bookshop! On a regular basis, there is a table with free books and tracts outside the bookshop. Although we rarely know who takes this material, one year a girl took a book and, as a result, became a Christian. Only six months later did she return to the shop to tell her story! Another time an elderly man took a tract and read it. He was so excited that he came into the shop, holding the tract, saying “this is the truth!”.
Colombia
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
Finland
Togo
Tanzania Peru
1980 Panama
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1990 Cyprus
Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania, Portugal
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Bulgaria, Hungary Myanmar
2010
Ecuador Bangladesh
Kenya Russia
A Christmas Gift & an Anniversary Celebration by the National Director Before Christmas every year, one of our
This customer was due to speak at our bookshop’s 10th anniversary celebration. As he was wondering what to say about the shop that had been such a blessing to him, he met a young man he had not seen for a while, and this fellow excitedly told him that something important had happened. He explained that as a result of reading the book he had picked from under his tree, he had become a believer in Christ! Our customer was naturally elated about the eternal change that the book had helped to bring about in this young man’s life, and he also knew what he would say to the people at the bookstore’s anniversary celebration!
Ministry in the Shop A young man came in asking for a book
on Darwinism. Our manager said we didn’t have one, but noticed he seemed nervous and unsettled. Then he asked if we had books on atheism. She again said no, but felt prompted to ask him “Are you seeking
Switzerland
Mexico
1998: Benin
1997: Central Asia #2 customers buys a variety of good books designed to draw people closer to God. He puts them under the Christmas tree in his home and, when someone comes to visit, he tells them to look under his tree and choose a book that looks interesting to take as a gift.
Bolivia
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: The Planned sale...that was Cancelled! About ten years ago, the owner
God?”. He said he was. “Well, you need to read and compare what you find out about God — and the best book to show you this is over here,” she replied as she directed him to a Bible. The customer said he still wanted to look for the other books at other stores, but if he didn’t find them, he would get a Bible. Sure enough, three days later, he came back and bought a Bible.
Ministry in Prison
A few years ago, a woman bought a Bible
for a family friend who was in prison. She said she went with little faith but wanted to do her part to share the Good News with him. Her friend read that Bible and accepted Jesus as his Saviour. Out of the joy of finding forgiveness and hope, he shared it with others in prison. They also became believers and started meeting and reading together. There were some other prisoners who were religious extremists and they accused these new Christians of betraying their religion. But the new believers showed them this Bible and challenged them to see what it said. Now they are reading it!
Surprise Sales by Emmanuel Ladeyo In the last two years we have had some
surprises and welcome sales: • A customer came to purchase books to the value of almost £2,000 GBP! (just under $3,000 USD). • A missionary in Europe contacted our Africa Regional Director about purchasing some Thompson Bibles. Soon afterwards, the money for these was sent to a pastor living in Benin and he came to buy 40 of these Bibles! There are many other marvellous stories which show us that God is in control and that He is the one accomplishing these works!
of the bookshop building in Benin told me that he had decided to sell the building. That is when our CLC team united in prayer, together with some pastor friends. A few weeks later, the landlord came back to see me with the following words: “A group of Muslims came with a suitcase full of money to buy the building but something told me not to sell it. I obeyed the voice that spoke to me. I am no longer going to sell the building”. Glory to God! Several years later, the owner of the property died. Just after this, a mafia gang comprising of lawyers and family members of the owner took the legal inheritors of the building to court with the intention of seizing the building. The inheritors then asked me to support them in prayer. So, that is what I did, together with a pastor friend, for some time. A few months later, the inheritors won the case and they came to thank me. Our God hears our prayers!
29
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
ea
Finland
Togo
Tanzania
St. Vincent
Peru
1980 2001: Ecuador
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Benin
Panama
Cyprus Memories We Cherish:
2010 Kenya
Bolivia
Switzerland
Portugal
Mexico
A Customer Who Sold CLC Books... A lady visited us for the first time
about 10 years ago. While in the shop, she commented that she was going through a very difficult situation at home and needed to find some means of extra income to help her care for her three children. She asked if we could help her by giving her Christian books and Bibles that she could sell in various places. We were able to give her some books, and this part of the ministry became quite significant, not just in helping the lady economically, but also for her spiritual growth. Today, the three children are grown up, working in various professions. They all love the Lord passionately and are grateful to the CLC ministry and the books that have helped and instructed them personally.
Special Events: Jim and Elizabeth George We had the blessing of organising and
hosting an event with the authors and speakers, Jim and Elizabeth George. With much love and humility, they put out a call to live a life of prayer and they left a challenge that was impressed on the hearts of the men and women who attended the conference in Quito. In all, 1500 people attended the event — 900 women had meetings with Elizabeth and 600 men with Jim. Many men were touched to the point of tears as God’s word spoke to them, and there were expressions of gratitude to Jim for the way in which God used him to speak and reach hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit.
The First Fifteen Years by Carlos Marín In 2016, CLC Ecuador celebrates its 15th anniversary. There is a lot to celebrate considering
that it started in 2001 with a couple from CLC Colombia and six other staff working in a bookshop and a wholesale department in Quito. Along with these two CLC centres, effort was concentrated on reaching various cities in Ecuador and the indigenous communities — taking Christian literature to places where it was not available and access was difficult. It was in these indigenous communities where we felt most appreciated and witnessed people happy with their newly acquired Bibles, many of whom hugged and even kissed them. In the first 10 years, CLC opened a further three bookshops, established a mobile work and the team had grown to 25. For the 10th anniversary, the CLC Americas Regional Conference was held in Ecuador. 30
2006: Russia Children’s MInistry by Nikita Sapunov In 2015, I met the Russian head of Child
Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). We agreed to look for ways to co-operate. Soon after this, we got CEF materials into our shop on consignment — with the biggest discount we have ever had among the publishers we buy from! It took a while for us to get the products arranged, especially on our website, but the end result pleased us all. In partnership with CEF, we also held a special event for children, which we hope to continue on a regular basis. In addition, we now have preliminary consent that CEF will take and promote our new book by Carine MacKenzie — Little Hands Learning to Pray — which came out at the end of 2015.
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment:
From Russia with Love! Natasha, a member of the CLC team, was
married in 2015. The testimony of her fiancé, Michael, is a testament to God working all things to His Glory. He and Natasha first met in hospital where Natasha’s mum was recovering after she had been hit by a car — driven by Michael. Throughout the process of treatment and the automatic police prosecution, the CLC team and Natasha’s church prayed that God’s hand would be seen in this situation. The result: Michael came to Christ, Natasha’s mum is now walking again and a romance has blossomed. God is good!
Train a child how to live the right way. Then even when he is old, he will still live that way. Proverbs 22:6 (ICB)
One Day there will be a Shop in Moscow!
About 35 years ago, Ken Adams
commented “One day we will have a shop in Moscow”. Back then, such a thing was almost unthinkable but, by faith, this became a CLC project. One of the people with Ken Adams at that time was Dave Birchall. Dave recalls visiting Moscow with Peter Horne before CLC was established there. “I went twice to Moscow with Peter. We were thrilled that CLC had opened in a number of former Soviet satellite countries, but we wanted to see a CLC ministry in the very heart of the empire that had persecuted the Church. We visited the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square to lift up the Name of Jesus and affirm His victory. That was a special time for us.” After much prayer, planning and preparation, CLC opened a bookshop in Moscow in 2006. On CLC’s 75th anniversary, we also celebrate CLC Russia’s 10th anniversary!
Dominica: Hurricane 1979
Hurricane David, one of the deadliest of the latter half of the 20th century, hit the island of Dominica in 1979. Almost three quarters of the population were left homeless. Pat Martin wrote about this event some weeks later: “I was in the store at the time of the hurricane and my wife Cornie was at home — you can imagine our joy when we were reunited. We spent the night with many others in a neighbour’s basement. As I write this, Cornie and Meredith Nelson are busy cutting up cheese for distribution. The cheese is part of a consignment of groceries sent by the evangelical churches in Martinique. Tomorrow we hope to get some supplies from CLC Barbados. All that we receive is a real help, and we try to get it distributed as quickly as possible.”
small offerings of literature, drinking water and sweets that we take for them. We trust that the Word of God that they receive will be read and that that they may know the peace of God.” “We praise God for increased sales, particularly in Concepción — the city most affected by the earthquake. This is an indication that people are seeking the Lord, and we hope many will find Him and that the church will be encouraged to continue their commitment to evangelism. During July, we will be giving out a total of 40,000 books and tracts in the area that was most affected. This includes 10,000 copies of When God Doesn’t Make Sense by James Dobson. We are grateful for the significant contribution publishers have made towards this project.”
Indonesia: Tsunami 2004
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people in 14 countries and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 metres high. Indonesia was the hardest hit country. In the months that followed, CLC Indonesia received donations for relief efforts and towards ministry for those most affected. Bibles, books and food parcels were distributed in various affected villages.
Chile: Earthquake 2010
In February 2010, Chile was struck by one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history. Isaac Zuñiga sent this news over the days that followed: “Members of the CLC team are making trips to villages on the coast that have been devastated by tsunamis following the earthquakes. We have been amazed at the way the people are receiving us. They are so appreciative of the
Colombia: Floods 2010
At the end of 2010, Colombia suffered devastating floods.
Elsa Maria Noy de Sanchez wrote at the time: “There are currently more than two million people who have lost everything — or what little they had. Most of these people have nowhere to sleep, no food, no clothing and no jobs. The situation is very distressing, and our hearts feel the sadness and despair — some people say they have even lost hope. These people are in real need of someone to tell them that there is still hope, and that there is a God who loves them.” Between Christmas and New Year, staff from CLC Barranquilla made the journey to Santa Marta with over 200 bags of essential food supplies, to which Bibles were added. The food aid was given out from a local church, and surrounding villages were visited by canoe. The CLC team was thankful to God for support for this project from CLC Chile, CLC Ecuador and from Nelson publishers. In addition, Unilit Publishers offered a donation of 5,000 books.
Disaster Relief Stories
Thailand: Floods 2011
In October, 2011, floodwaters affected large areas of Thailand. In Bangkok, the waters came very close to our building. During this time, there were very few customers and it was impossible to order stock because the publishers closed temporarily. In the week following the flooding, CLC in Chiang Mai got involved in sending food aid to the people who were suffering in Bangkok. Martin Holsinger, a volunteer with CLC at that time, wrote: “The first time we sent aid, we hired someone to cook and pack the food. The second time we cooked the food ourselves, packed it into 2,650 foam cartons and shipped it to Bangkok. It was a lot of work, but it was a great joy to be of service. The food was purchased by donated funds, and we are very grateful to all those who felt led to give for this relief effort.”
Ecuador Earthquake 2016
In April, 2016, a powerful earthquake was felt in several cities where CLC has bookshops. Although books fell from the shelves in CLC Manta, CLC as a whole was unaffected, but some cities and towns were devastated. The CLC team was able to help by using the Book Mobile van to take tents, medicines, toiletries, water and food to various affected cities and towns. They also gave away the Word of God, particularly New Testaments. Some of the work was done in collaboration with other agencies, including YWAM, official rescue workers and paramedics. Donations from a number of publishing houses made this relief effort possible.
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Opening Dates of CLC Countries:
Belgium
Australia
Jamaica
Now Closed
Still Open Canada
USA, Dominica, Liberia
Uruguay, Germany
Trinidad & Tobago, Japan France
2007: Kenya
How Shall These Things Be? by Patrick Omukhango Bishop Gitaari pastors a large church network in
At a conference in 2015, there was a prophecy that he would be publishing a book every three months in 2016! A sermon the following Sunday, on Mary and her reaction, ‘How shall these things be?’, when the angel visited her to announce the virgin conception, was the Bishop’s reaction regarding the prophecy he had received. Two days later, a friend of Bishop Gitaari, who had just discovered CLC Kenya’s POD project, called Bishop Gitaari and announced the good news of the possibilities that POD offered. Bishop Gitaari went to CLC the following day to see for himself and said, “I know God answers prayers, but I did not expect He would answer mine this fast”. Within a month, through POD, he released four new titles!
Guinea Bissau
St. Lucia, New Zealand
Sri Lanka Cameroon Gilbraltar
Egypt
1960 India, Indonesia
Italy Barbados, Philippines, Austria
Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand Antigua, Pakistan Papua New Guinea Netherlands
1970 Spain, Sierra Leone, Mozambique
2008: Switzerland Impact Lugano by Carlo Ciafani In June, 2015, CLC Lugano attended ‘Impact Lugano’,
Kenya. He had a few books published and was trusting God for the finance to publish more. In Kenya, an author has to have a lot of funds to publish a book, being obliged to print thousands of copies at a time, which brings further expense for warehousing.
A Moving Story Since CLC Kenya started in
2007, the main bookshop and wholesale outlet in Nairobi has had to move twice! Praise the Lord that God led Patrick Omukhango and the rest of the team to an ideal new location which so far has served us well and has also accommodated the new Print on Demand (POD) system that CLC Kenya is making good use of.
Lighting the Fires of Revival in Kenya! Bishop Gichana is a leader of one of the mainstream churches
in Kenya. For a long time he had been looking for the book, God on Fire, by Fred Hartley, a title that he had read a long time ago and which had made an impact on him. He wanted the book so he could share it with other pastors. In December, 2015, Bishop Gichana was excited to discover that the book was published by CLC and that through POD it could be accessed easily. Once we got the rights from CLC USA, we printed it for him and, in less than two months, he had bought over 500 copies of God on Fire and Church on Fire. These he gave out for free to other pastors and key leaders in Kenya. He has held conferences and meetings all over the country using the two books as key tools to light the fires of revival in Kenya. 32
Brazil, Argentina
1950
1940 United Kingdom
Senegal, Guyana, British Honduras
an evangelistic event organised by the Pentecostal European Fellowship in collaboration with seven churches in and around Lugano. About 60 young men and women from different parts of Europe came to do performances, with music and testimonies, to bring the Gospel to the streets of the city — to local residents as well as international tourists. In the evenings, they all gathered together in a large conference hall for music and ministry, and a number of people accepted Jesus into their lives. This event gave our bookshop opportunities to make closer links with participating churches and to play a part in this evangelistic event.
Open Doors In November, 2015, CLC Lugano was invited to the
Open Doors conference for the presentation of the Ticino (the Italian speaking part of Switzerland) branch of that mission. Our bookshop was able to present a selection of books about the persecuted church, and the participants appreciated our involvement.
Customers Selling Books One day, a customer entering the bookshop met up
with a friend. Chatting together about this and that, the customer strongly recommended the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, saying to his friend that this book had challenged and changed his life. Another customer overheard the conversation and started asking questions about that particular book. On that occasion, we sold four copies of Crazy Love! It is great when customers themselves recommend good Christian books to their friends.
Venezuela
Colombia
Ko
Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East
orea
Finland
Togo
Swaziland
St. Vincent
1980 Panama
Tanzania Peru
1990 Cyprus
Burkina Faso, Poland, Romania, Portugal
Equatorial Guinea
2000 Bulgaria, Hungary Belarus Myanmar
2013: Bolivia Overview of the Early Days by Gamaliel Padilla CLC Bolivia, in Santa Cruz, opened in 2013 and, since
then, it has been a time of hard work, learning and adaptation. The start of the ministry, with the great challenge of setting up the bookshop and distribution, has tested everything we have learned over many years (previously with CLC Venezuela), and it is still a learning process. Despite a slow and sometimes difficult start, we have seen the Lord’s hand in every situation and His abundant grace every day. The main task during this time has been to promote the ministry in various events: participating in pastors’ meetings, conferences, book tables in churches, visiting Bible schools and holding seminars with the Thompson Bible Institute. Regarding the Christian book market, there are many small bookshops located in various market places and churches, often in a very informal way. There are also a handful of distributors, some with many years of experience in the country, but often with flexible discount policies. Our task is to serve the Christian community well and make sure that our work with Christian resources is also recognised as a ministry.
Books That Are A Blessing!
In 2014, CLC had a stand at the International Book Fair. College students are obliged to attend this event, and we had a lot of young people visit us. One book that sold well was Every Young Woman’s Battle by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn. Some of these customers returned to tell us how the book had helped and blessed them. Bolivia has significant numbers of adolescent pregnancies, so the message in this book gives good and relevant advice.
Central Benin Asia 1 Central Asia 2 Bangladesh
2010
Ecuador Russia
2014: Mexico The Challenge to Make an Impact by Maria del Carmen Castañeda For CLC Mexico, it was a challenge to make an impact in the country from the outset. We signed up to participate in, and promote, the first ‘Gran Feria Cristiana’ that took place over three days in Tlalneplantla in the State of Mexico. Around 5,000 people participated and many publishers were represented, including CLC Colombia. There were many different activities and teaching programmes arranged, and it was an important platform for CLC to introduce our mission and the possibilities of distributing Christian literature through us. CLC Publishing also contributed to some of the seminars through the author and pastor, Jorge Diaz.
In addition to this event, we have made contact with churches, Bible schools and bookshop owners. We have also used various forms of communication through the media. With all this work, and in partnership with the Thompson Bible seminars in Mexico, we hope to fulfil our goal to see the CLC ministry extended in Mexico.
Ambitious Projects
One of the most ambitious projects of the newly established work of CLC in Mexico is to visit each state in order to understand first-hand the needs of the believers and, most importantly, how to reach out to those who have not yet been introduced to the Gospel. In 2015 we had the privilege of travelling around the south of Mexico, making the CLC ministry known and promoting a Christian book fair. Contacts were made with pastors from the Assemblies of God churches and with Christian publishers. In each city we visited a meeting was arranged with pastors, church leaders and staff from local Christian bookshops – it was the perfect opportunity to present the CLC ministry and the variety of resources we have. The welcome we received was warm and the appreciation was reflected in our sales and in the growth of the contacts in our data base. 33
Encouraging Story:
More Than Just A Bookshop! by Tracy Simpson The homeless man who came into our store
was called Mark, and he was found sitting in the corner of our shop on the floor crying one day last week. He had once believed he told us, but was finished with God because of everything that had happened to him. His mother had died 10 months earlier, and they had been very close. Then, eight weeks later, his only brother, who he described as his ‘rock’, had died of cancer. Five months ago, he came home from work to find that his beloved wife had committed suicide. The knock on effect of this was that he lost his job because he was just broken and unable to work which, in turn, meant he had been evicted because he couldn’t pay his rent. Mark decided to take his own life, he told us, as he could see no point in going on, and no one would care anyway. I explained to him that we in the shop would care very much indeed but, more to the point, Jesus would be heartbroken if he carried out his threat. I explained to him that Jesus could put his life back together, and that it is when we are lost and broken and at the end of our tether that Jesus works best. We talked for a long time, and I shared the gospel with him, telling him what Jesus had done in my own life. He couldn’t believe that we were prepared to just listen to him and, as we gave him a hot drink, he asked through his tears, ‘How much do I owe you for the tea?’ He cried a lot and we put our arms around him and cried with him. We prayed with him as a team and explained that nothing was too hard for our God and that he is the God of miracles. We gave him a meal and enough money for the bus ride down to the hostel. As we made many phone calls trying to get him a bed for the night — all unsuccessful — we telephoned one of our customers who works for the Salvation Army who suggested he went down to their hostel for the night. As he left the shop that night, we felt that we had done so little. As I went home on the train, I poured out my heart to God for him and asked,
pleading, that Jesus would make himself so real to Mark. I prayed that he would still be alive by the next day and that God would restrain his hand from harming himself, and that our Saviour would put him back together again. I asked God to forgive me that I had not been able to do more. This story has a very happy ending. As he lay in the bus station that night, Mark took out the Bible we had given him and started to read. As he read Mark sensed that someone was beside him and he no longer felt alone or afraid. Later that evening, Mark encountered Jesus again in such a way that there was no doubt that it was Him. Within the next few days, Mark was given a permanent place to stay in a hostel, due to the contacts we have here in the shop. He has given his life to Christ and decided that life is definitely worth living, and that Jesus has a plan for his life. He says he feels like a new person with strength to go on like never before. In the hostel, he was visited by a very nice support worker who offered to help him apply for the benefits he is entitled to to help him get his life back together until he is strong enough to work. People from a local church also came to see Mark and invited him along to their services. This church has Christian bereavement counselling to help people like Mark deal with their loss. As I gave God all the glory and thanked Him for using us even in a small way, I realised that we don’t need to have all the solutions to problems because Jesus has the answers. He can do anything and everything. We are to simply be His hands, feet, eyes and ears. We just need to LOVE people and to CARE and to POINT people to JESUS!
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matt 5:14-16 (ESV)
(CLC World 2015 Iss. 3)
Congratulations on your 75th Anniversary from all of us at Hodder & Stoughton.
Giving thanks to God for CLC’s 75 years of faithful service and our valued partnership in Christian ministry together.
Congratulations to CLC on this anniversary of faithful service. We look forward to seeing many more people hear the Good News of Jesus through your work!
Congratulations on 75 years of excellence in ministry and service. We are honoured to partner with you as a distributor.
Continue Living for Christ with a Certain Loving Call Communicating Light to and from the Church.
Congratulations CLC on 75 years of sharing God’s Word to a hungry world — helping others to know Him better through those resources!
Congratulations CLC on your 75th anniversary. Thanks for working with us to reach the world with His message.
Congratulations on your 75th Anniversary — SPCK looks forward to continuing to partner with you long into the future!
We praise the LORD for the 75 years of enduring ministry of CLC! We’re so thankful to have been a supplier for CLC Barbados for many of those years.
Crossway is honored to partner with CLC in its global mission of resourcing the church though literature.
Integrity Music are proud to partner & serve alongside CLC and wish them every blessing as they celebrate 75 years of ministry.
Together Magazine would like to congratulate CLC on its 75th anniversary
A ‘Forever Grateful’ Moment: Congratulations on a fantastic 75-year investment into growing faith and resourcing the Church!
Congratulations on 75 years of incredible ministry! We are thankful for the heart that CLC has for the world, and pray for many more years to come.
Thank you Jesus, for our partners! Over the last 75 years we have been
Congratulations, CLC! Wishing you every blessing for the next 75, with gratitude for your encouragement and friendship in our first years.
Congratulations on your 75 anniversary to all involved in CLC’s ministry. We value the partnership we share at William Collins.
Congratulations to CLC on the 75th Anniversary of their ministry from all at David C Cook.
Congratulations on this wonderful milestone! We at Reformation Heritage Books continue to be immensely thankful for our successful distribution partnership.
Filled with gratitude for the Lord’s faithfulness and his protection in developing the testimony of the CLC throughout these 75 years. May God preserve our fellowship in the service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Congratulations on your 75th Anniversary. We look forward to continuing working together over the coming years.
LifeWay is honoured to partner with CLC in serving the Church. Congratulations as you celebrate your 75th anniversary!
Authentic Media are proud to partner in CLC’s ministry and help impact lives. Congratulations and every blessing for the future!
blessed by God with some incredible opportunities to partner with these Gospel-focused teams, as well as many others, including you, our readers.
Congratulations and best wishes to CLC on this wonderful anniversary. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Your prayers and support have enabled us to spread the Good News of God’s love to both urban and remote communities all around the world! Thank you for being such a vital part of our ministry. Together we can change the world, one book at a time! CLC is registered as a charity in England & Wales (1015793) and in Scotland (SC037939)
Well done, good and faithful servant! Congratulations on 75 years of service to the gospel from your friends at IVP.
Lion Hudson would like to wish all the staff at CLC our warmest congratulations on your 75th Anniversary!
It's been a joy and privilege to partner with CLC International in providing life-changing literature to the nations.
AND
Congratulations to CLC on 75 years of ministry, spreading God’s Word and Christian literature around the world.
With gratitude for many years of partnership and ministry. Congratulations!
YOU!