Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | SPCK |
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| Formation | 1698 |
| Founder | Thomas Bray |
| Type | Church of England Christian media Christian charity Christian mission |
| Headquarters | 36 Causton Street London SW1P 4ST United Kingdom |
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. It was started in 1698 by Thomas Bray. For over 300 years, SPCK has worked to share information about the Christian faith. They do this both in the UK and around the world.
SPCK is the oldest Anglican (a type of Christian) mission group in the world. Today, it works with many different Christian groups. It publishes books for a wide range of Christian churches. SPCK is currently the top publisher of Christian books in the United Kingdom. It is also the third oldest independent publisher in the UK.
The Story of SPCK
How SPCK Started
On March 8, 1698, a reverend named Thomas Bray met with some friends. These friends included Sir Humphrey Mackworth and Lord Guilford. They met in Lincoln's Inn, London. They were worried about what they saw as "bad behavior" in England. They thought this was because people didn't know enough about Christian teachings. They also wanted to spread Christian ideas in other countries.
They decided to meet often to plan how to learn more about Anglican Christianity. They believed the best way to do this was by printing and giving out Christian books. They also wanted to encourage Christian education for everyone.
SPCK was closely linked to the Church of England. It did not work in Scotland. A different group, the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, started there in 1709.
SPCK tried to help with many social problems of its time. It worked to make prisons better. It also helped the families of church leaders who died overseas. The group even provided basic education for enslaved people in the Caribbean.
One main goal for Bray and his friends was to build libraries in towns. For its first 200 years, SPCK started many charity schools. These schools were for poor children aged 7 to 11. The Society also helped train teachers.
Sharing Faith Around the World
SPCK has worked overseas since it began. At first, they focused on British colonies in the Americas. They set up libraries for church leaders and their communities. Books were often sent across the Atlantic Ocean during the 1700s. In 1709, SPCK sent a printing press to Tranquebar in East India. This helped print the first Bible in the Tamil language. German missionaries Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau did this work.
As the British Empire grew in the 1800s, SPCK helped start new churches worldwide. They gave money for church buildings, schools, and colleges for religious training. They also helped provide chaplains for ships carrying people to new homes. By the 1800s, SPCK mainly helped with setting up churches and providing learning materials. They often let other groups, like the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG), send missionaries. The USPG was also started by Thomas Bray. In Ireland, the Association for Promoting Christian Knowledge (APCK) began in 1792. It worked with the Church of Ireland. In south India, the Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) was set up to support Anglican missions there. It is connected to SPCK.
In the 1900s, SPCK's overseas work focused on giving free study books. These books went to colleges that trained church leaders around the world, especially in Africa. The International Study Guide series was given for free to theological training colleges. You can still buy them from the SPCK website. Now, SPCK's worldwide mission mainly focuses on developing the African Theological Network Press.
Helping the Church of England
From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, SPCK ran a training college in London. This college helped working-class men learn about religion. The goal was to help them assist church leaders with services. It was also hoped that with more Bible knowledge, these men could teach their own communities.
Throughout the 1900s, SPCK helped people training to become priests in the Anglican church. This support continues today through the Richards Trust and an app called Ordinands Library.
Publishing Books and More
From its earliest days, SPCK printed small books and leaflets. This makes it the third-oldest publishing house in England. Only the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses have been around longer. Early on, an SPCK member named George Sale translated The Koran into English. SPCK published it in 1734, and Voltaire praised it.
Throughout the 1700s, SPCK was the biggest producer of Christian books in Britain. They published many different types of materials. These included small books for specific groups like farmers, prisoners, and soldiers. They also had general books on topics like baptism and prayer. Over time, they started publishing bigger books on Christian subjects. From the 1830s, they also published general educational books.
SPCK used to have places where people could get their books. These were called depositories. They were in places like Great Queen Street and Piccadilly in London.
SPCK's early books were given out by a network of supporters. These supporters would sell or give away books in their local areas. Many Christian books were provided for the Navy. The Society also encouraged setting up local church libraries. By the 1800s, members had local groups. Many of these groups set up small book stores, sometimes more than 400 of them.
In the 1930s, SPCK started a network of bookshops. These shops sold many different books from various publishers. At its busiest, the SPCK Bookshop chain had 40 shops in the UK and 20 overseas. The overseas shops were gradually given to local owners in the 1960s and 1970s.
Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone, London, was an old church built in 1828. In the 1930s, it was used by Penguin Books to store books. Later, in 1937, SPCK moved in. It was their main office until 2004. Then, they moved to Causton Street in Pimlico. The bookshop moved to Tufton Street in 2003.
In 1999, SPCK created a website called Assemblies. It provides materials for school assemblies.
In 2006, another group took over the SPCK bookshops. However, this arrangement ended in 2007. Some shops kept using the SPCK name without permission until they closed in 2009.
In 2019, SPCK sold its "Sheldon Press" part, which published medical and self-help books, to Hachette UK.
Past Book Series and Magazines
SPCK has published many different book series over the years. These included:
- Alcuin Club: Collections
- Ancient History from the Monuments
- Apple Blossom Series
- The Bede Histories
- Bible Study Series
- Christian Knowledge Booklets
- Early Church Classics
- Heroes of Science
- The Home Library
- Missionary Stories Series
- Natural History Rambles
- The Nature Lover's Series
- Penny Library of Fiction
- Romance of Science Series
- SPCK Assemblies
- SPCK International Study Guides
- The Story of The English Towns
- Tales for the Nursery and the Young
- The Zoo
They also published magazines like:
- The Child's Pictorial: A Monthly Coloured Magazine
- The Dawn of Day
- Golden Sunbeams: A Church Magazine for Children
- The Home Friend: A Weekly Miscellany of Amusement and Instruction
SPCK also created learning tools like atlases and maps.
SPCK Today (2020s)
SPCK's publishing team creates about 80 new books each year. These books are for many different Christian groups and for people who are not Christian. SPCK publishes under its own name, SPCK Publishing. It also uses three main "imprints" (which are like different brands or sections): IVP, Lion Hudson, and Marylebone House.
SPCK Publishing Today
SPCK Publishing is a leader in books about theology (the study of religion) and Christian spirituality. Some important authors for SPCK include N. T. Wright, Rowan Williams (a former Archbishop of Canterbury), Paula Gooder, and Alister McGrath. Newer authors include Guvna B and Ben Cooley.
SPCK is also becoming known in other areas, like history and leadership. They publish books by authors such as Terry Waite, Melvyn Bragg, and Janina Ramirez.
Current Book Series
In 2023, SPCK Publishing was releasing these series:
- Discovering Series
- Food for the Journey
- For Everyone Series
- Modern Church Series
IVP
SPCK joined with Inter-Varsity Press (IVP) in 2015. IVP still has its own leaders and editors. Key authors for IVP include John Stott, Don Carson, Amy Orr-Ewing, and Emma Scrivener.
Lion Hudson
SPCK bought Lion Hudson in 2021. It is now an SPCK imprint.
Marylebone House
In 2014, SPCK started its fiction imprint, Marylebone House. This part publishes different kinds of novels. These include modern stories, historical stories, and mystery books. They often feature Christian characters and themes.
Diffusion Prison Books
SPCK also owns an imprint called Diffusion. This part has published 12 books made especially for adults who find reading difficult. These books are in two series: "Star" and "Diamond." Star books are for adults who are just starting to read. Diamond books are for those who want to read more confidently. All the books are for adults but are written in an easy-to-read style.
SPCK gives these books for free to prisons. They go to individual prisoners, prison libraries, and prison reading groups. This helps with two main reasons why people might re-offend: not having a job after release and not having support from family and friends. At the end of each chapter, Diffusion books have questions. These questions can be discussed in a reading group. This helps people develop their talking and social skills. The questions also help people understand others' feelings and think about their own lives.
By the end of 2018, SPCK had sent Diffusion books to 70% of UK prisons. In 2018 alone, they sent out over 6,500 books.
The African Theological Network Press
SPCK helped start the African Theological Network Press (ATNP). They did this with other groups like the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture. The ATNP publishes books about religion written by African authors. These books focus on topics important to African Christians.
The ATNP is based in Nairobi. They plan and edit the books there. The books are then printed locally across Africa. This helps avoid problems where books might not be available outside the country where they are printed.
The ATNP aims to help African religious studies rely less on books from other parts of the world.
SSPCK in Scotland
The Scottish sister group, the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK), was officially formed in 1709. It was a separate organization. Its goal was to start schools in the Scottish Highlands and other "uncivilized" areas. These schools would teach "religion and good behavior." It also aimed to counter the influence of Catholic missionaries and the growing support for Jacobitism (a political movement) in the Highlands.
Important People at SPCK
- Steven East, who leads the trustees
- Sam Richardson, the CEO
- Bishop John Pritchard, a former leader of the trustees
