The Good Book Company
Encyclopedia
The Good Book Company is an evangelical
, reformed
Christian
publisher, located in New Malden, Surrey, England. They are structured as a large unquoted, private company, limited by share capital. Their practices include publishing, mission outreach and training.
range. They distribute in the UK for the Australian evangelical
, reformed
publisher Matthias Media
. They co-publish The Briefing
magazine in association with Matthias Media
, with whom they have been associated since their start. (As noted above, TGBC was originally called St. Matthias Press UK, while Matthias Media
in Australia was called St. Matthias Press and Tapes). They also promote and distribute a number of imprints of other publishers, including Intervarsity-Press UK, Good News Crossway
, Evangelical Press
, Christian Focus and Anglican Youthworks
.
Aside from direct sales from TGBC, distribution to third-world countries includes:
, All Souls Langham Place
and Oak Hill College
) that organises the annual Evangelists' Conference. TGBC is also involved in the annual London and Northern Men's and Women's Conferences (and publishes the talks, seminars and handbooks from those conferences) for local church ministry. They run training events for Youth and Children's work in the UK and Northern Ireland. TGBC co-hosted the Urban Plant Life Conference in November 2008.
extension courses in the UK - an established distance learning course from Sydney, Australia. The Open Bible Institute states that this was consistent with TGBC's desire to build on the training events it had been running.
Over the next five years, enrolments in the Moore College course grew to just under 1,000 students. TGBC set up the Open Bible Institute in 2005/2006, as a distance learning college that could accommodate students of varying levels of competency. The Open Bible Institute now offers validated courses to Cert HE level as a UK Academic Partner of Middlesex University
and handles Moore College enrolments for students in the UK, Europe and Africa, including students of the Bible Training Partnership.
, who also perform order-fulfilment for the TGBC Australian website.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
publisher, located in New Malden, Surrey, England. They are structured as a large unquoted, private company, limited by share capital. Their practices include publishing, mission outreach and training.
History
TGBC began in 1991 under the name St. Matthias Press UK, in response to what TGBC saw as a "resurgence of Bible-based reformed evangelicalism in the UK." Their name was later changed to The Good Book Company in 2000. TGBC now supplies books, along with Bible study notes, to multiple countries including that of the UK, US, Australia and the developing world.Publishing
TGBC writes and publishes Bible studies, training and evangelism resources, including Bible reading notes, youth materials and the Christianity ExploredChristianity Explored
Christianity Explored is an informal Christian evangelistic teaching course developed by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper at All Souls Church, Langham Place, a leading evangelical Church of England church, and published by The Good Book Company....
range. They distribute in the UK for the Australian evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
publisher Matthias Media
Matthias Media
Matthias Media is an award winning Australian evangelical Christian publisher. The business grew out of the ministry of Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne at St Matthias, Centennial Park, Sydney under the name St Matthias Press and Tapes. Many resources now published by Matthias Media were developed as...
. They co-publish The Briefing
The Briefing
The Briefing is an evangelical Christian magazine published by Matthias Media in partnership with The Good Book Company . It is printed monthly, and is circulated in Australia, North America and the United Kingdom...
magazine in association with Matthias Media
Matthias Media
Matthias Media is an award winning Australian evangelical Christian publisher. The business grew out of the ministry of Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne at St Matthias, Centennial Park, Sydney under the name St Matthias Press and Tapes. Many resources now published by Matthias Media were developed as...
, with whom they have been associated since their start. (As noted above, TGBC was originally called St. Matthias Press UK, while Matthias Media
Matthias Media
Matthias Media is an award winning Australian evangelical Christian publisher. The business grew out of the ministry of Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne at St Matthias, Centennial Park, Sydney under the name St Matthias Press and Tapes. Many resources now published by Matthias Media were developed as...
in Australia was called St. Matthias Press and Tapes). They also promote and distribute a number of imprints of other publishers, including Intervarsity-Press UK, Good News Crossway
Good News Publishers
Good News Publishers is a not-for-profit Christian ministry that publishes and distributes gospel tracts. Good News Publishers is the parent company of Crossway Books, a publisher of evangelical Christian books. Good News/Crossway is headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois...
, Evangelical Press
Evangelical Press
Evangelical Press is a small Christian not-for-profit publisher of books, newspapers and tracts. It is based in Darlington in the United Kingdom and Carlisle, PA, USA, with employees also in Africa, France and Belarus. It serves a reformed conservative evangelical constituency...
, Christian Focus and Anglican Youthworks
Anglican Youthworks
Anglican Youthworks, otherwise known simply as Youthworks, is the youth and education department of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia. It exists to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the young people of Sydney and beyond in partnership with the churches and schools of the diocese.It is...
.
Mission Outreach
As part of the not for profit side of their activities, TGBC provides basic sermon outlines on a number of Bible books, named the Pray Prepare Preach (PPP) series. The Forum of Bible Agencies states that this is because some pastors and teachers in third-world countries have little Bible training and few resources in their own language.Aside from direct sales from TGBC, distribution to third-world countries includes:
- UK mission organisations that send out literature to pastors.
- Organisations and individuals that organise preaching seminars.
- Overseas organisations which distribute literature in their own country.
Conferences and Training Events
TGBC is part of a conservative group (along with London City MissionLondon City Mission
London City Mission was set up by David Nasmith on 16 May 1835 in the Hoxton area of east London. The first paid missionary was Lindsay Burfoot.. Today it is part of the wider City Mission Movement....
, All Souls Langham Place
All Souls Church, Langham Place
All Souls Church is an Anglican Evangelical church in central London, situated in Marylebone at the north end of Regent Street on Langham Place, just south of BBC Broadcasting House. As well as the core church membership, many hundreds of visitors come to All Souls, bringing the average number of...
and Oak Hill College
Oak Hill Theological College
Oak Hill College is a theological college located on Chase Side in Southgate, London, England. It is one of the largest seminaries in the UK....
) that organises the annual Evangelists' Conference. TGBC is also involved in the annual London and Northern Men's and Women's Conferences (and publishes the talks, seminars and handbooks from those conferences) for local church ministry. They run training events for Youth and Children's work in the UK and Northern Ireland. TGBC co-hosted the Urban Plant Life Conference in November 2008.
The Open Bible Institute and the Moore College Extension Course
In 1999, TGBC began administering Moore Theological CollegeMoore Theological College
Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia...
extension courses in the UK - an established distance learning course from Sydney, Australia. The Open Bible Institute states that this was consistent with TGBC's desire to build on the training events it had been running.
Over the next five years, enrolments in the Moore College course grew to just under 1,000 students. TGBC set up the Open Bible Institute in 2005/2006, as a distance learning college that could accommodate students of varying levels of competency. The Open Bible Institute now offers validated courses to Cert HE level as a UK Academic Partner of Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
and handles Moore College enrolments for students in the UK, Europe and Africa, including students of the Bible Training Partnership.
Overseas Distributors
The TGBC USA website began in February 2009, in conjunction with the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference. TGBC exhibits at large North American evangelical, reformed conferences, such as Together For the Gospel and Desiring God Pastor’s Conference. Trade distribution is performed in Australia by Reformers BookshopReformers Bookshop
Reformers is a non-profit Christian wholesaler and bookseller operating in Australasia, plus telephone, internet and mail order world-wide....
, who also perform order-fulfilment for the TGBC Australian website.
See also
- Christianity ExploredChristianity ExploredChristianity Explored is an informal Christian evangelistic teaching course developed by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper at All Souls Church, Langham Place, a leading evangelical Church of England church, and published by The Good Book Company....
- Matthias MediaMatthias MediaMatthias Media is an award winning Australian evangelical Christian publisher. The business grew out of the ministry of Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne at St Matthias, Centennial Park, Sydney under the name St Matthias Press and Tapes. Many resources now published by Matthias Media were developed as...
- Reformers BookshopReformers BookshopReformers is a non-profit Christian wholesaler and bookseller operating in Australasia, plus telephone, internet and mail order world-wide....
- The BriefingThe BriefingThe Briefing is an evangelical Christian magazine published by Matthias Media in partnership with The Good Book Company . It is printed monthly, and is circulated in Australia, North America and the United Kingdom...