Christianbook International Outreach UPDATE
Summer 2024
Distributing books for international Christian leaders and theological schools,
and Bibles for those without access to them.
Recently Christianbook International Outreach (CIO) was invited to partner with Central Africa Baptist University (CABU) in Kitwe, Zambia, and Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC) in Washington, D.C., in a major effort on behalf of CABU.
The University needs books. A lot of them. And CIO is ready to help.
“Needed: 30,000 Books for Groundbreaking African Theological Library”
This is the headline from The Gospel Coalition’s International Mission News article by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra (May 26, 2024), who writes: “In 2006, the Central Africa Baptist University (CABU) opened with 12 students…. Over the next 18 years, the school grew to about 200 students learning expository preaching, missions and church planting, counseling, sign language, and chaplaincy. CABU faculty began training teachers and launched an MA in Christian studies, and they’re planning to add an MDiv. They added 15 remote training classes––where a teacher spends a week with a group of pastors closer to their homes––and have taught more than 2,000 pastors that way.”
“CABU has nearly 920 graduates serving in 14 countries, property with classrooms and a student center, and government accreditation,” Zylstra shares. “But what it doesn’t have is a library. Yet.”
Like other Sub-Saharan countries, Zambia has an extremely limited supply of books, Zylstra reveals: “In 2018, Zambia had just 45 libraries, or one for every 400,000 people. For comparison, the United States had a library for every 3,000 people that year. If CABU wanted a library, they were going to have to build their own.”
In Zylstra’s feature, CABU Vice Chancellor Philip Hunt says that a theological library would enable “‘thousands of students to do research with healthy resources they otherwise wouldn’t have had access to. If we could pull this off, it would be unique in our area of Zambia to have a library of this breadth….
“‘The invention of the printing press was arguably one of the key features that fueled the Protestant Reformation,’ Hunt says. ‘I think it’s safe to say we need an African reformation. And we cannot devalue the role that access to quality books plays in the shaping of the theology and thinking, and in the direction, of a nation and a continent.’
“When you come … bring the … books.”
—2 Timothy 4:13
With solid partnerships and an unwavering vision, CABU broke ground this past March for a theological library that is scheduled to be finished this summer! And there will be enough shelf space for 50,000 volumes.
To this end, CABU, CHBC, and CIO are working with publishers and churches to secure donations of new and gently used select books to fill a 20-foot ocean container. At its Peabody, Massachusetts, headquarters, CIO is managing the logistics, receiving and packing donated books, and will send the container directly to the CABU campus in Kitwe, Zambia.
By partnering with Christianbook International Outreach, you are supporting schools like CABU that are committed to providing books and Bibles that will shape the minds and hearts of future pastors. You also prepare today’s international church leaders with trusted theological resources and tools to grow in knowledge and faith, and be equipped to share the true Gospel message.
We are grateful for all our partners worldwide. CIO’s mission is to distribute books to international Christian leaders and theological schools, and Bibles to those without access to them. We thank you for your interest and support
Missions experts reveal the number one request from Christian leaders around the world is for help in training their pastors.
- Fact: 60%–70% of Christians live outside the U.S.—this is where the church is growing.
- Fact: 80%–85% of pastors outside the U.S. have no formal theological training.
- Fact: In the U.S., there is one trained pastor per 250 people; outside the U.S., there is one trained pastor per 450,000 people.
- Fact: Most pastors have limited access to Bibles and books for self-study, and/or limited resources for buying Bibles and books if they are available.
Also a Fact: This is a change you can make with your gift of any amount to Christianbook International Outreach! MAKE A DIFFERENCE HERE.
Make an exponential—and eternal—impact. Equip the next generation of International Christian Leaders!
Thanks to generous supporters like you, theological students, faculty, pastors, and leaders in more than 80 countries have received long-awaited resources for expanding their knowledge and faith, deepening their wisdom, and increasing their impact for God’s Kingdom.
Your Impact at a Glance:
2024 (so far):
652,488 Resources
23 Countries Served
Total CIO Distributions to Date:
2,679,900 Resources
80+ Countries Served
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