To mark World Book Day 2024, a Christian organisation has launched a campaign to donate more than 10,000 books to overseas Bible colleges and seminaries this year.

Langham UK and Ireland, which trains pastors and equips Christian leaders, kicked off its “Books for Bible Colleges” campaign on Thursday, with the goal to meet the growing need for written resources.

Langham's objective is to supply over 650 libraries in nearly 100 countries with contextually relevant and biblically-informed literature.

The charity said that in the Majority World, which is where most of the world's population, natural resources, and landmass are located but is often economically poorer, more than 80 per cent of pastors lack any formal training.

This means that many college and seminary libraries are inadequately equipped with resources to educate them.

The “Books for Bible Colleges” initiative allows these institutions to build their own core library from Langham's catalogue of over 7,200 books. Also, several colleges will achieve accreditation by acquiring the required number of resources.

Simon Foulds, Development Manager for Langham UK and Ireland said: "Now more than ever, we need to equip Christian leaders with great potential who face poverty, pressure, and persecution every day," he said.

"Every church deserves a well-trained leader, and Langham wants to ensure every aspiring church leader has access to a stocked library before they preach from the pulpit."

According to Langham, many Bible colleges across the Majority World rely heavily on Western-authored books.

He told Premier that recipients will get to turn that around.

“We've got such an abundance of knowledge and books here in the UK. Other parts of the world are desperately crying out to read and be encouraged by books that are right for their culture and their region,” he said.

“Sending books that would be right for me, won't necessarily be right for somebody else in the Philippines or somewhere like that.”

Through the “Books for Bible Colleges” campaign, Langham said that 71 per cent of colleges and seminaries in the Majority World will be able to educate more students with informed resources, tackling a “global leadership crisis.”

Each grant from Langham costs £330, covering the full cost of the books, operations, and shipping.

The “Books for Bible Colleges” campaign coincides with Langham's 40th anniversary of supplying Majority World Bible college libraries with books and resources. 

You can listen to Premier's full interview with Simon Foulds here: