Plugging the Holes in Christian Publishing

That was the reason for forming Grace Publications Trust (GPT) in August 1977.

What sort of holes? Well, one need was for books that promoted Baptist principles. The Trust has produced titles such as Special Children: a theology of childhood and I Want To Be Baptised (both by Eric Lane); Baptism by Brian Russell; and Should Babies Be Baptised? by T.E. Watson.

Probably the most influential area of the Trust’s publishing programme is a series of simplified and abridged Christian classics. The aim is to make great works from the past more accessible to modern readers. They provide the essence of great Christian works of the past in language that is both contemporary and simple.

These small paperbacks, with short chapters, have proved to be a great introduction to Christian classics for busy people who don’t have the time or the inclination to work their way through the originals, as well as for people whose native language is not English. There are now over 20 titles in the series, ranging from Luther’s Bondage of the Will and Calvin’s Institutes, through Puritan authors like John Owen and Jonathan Edwards, to nineteenth century writers such as J.C. Ryle.

A third aspect of the Trust’s publishing work is a series of books on church history, entitled “2000 Years of Christ’s Power”. The author is Dr. Nick Needham, who teaches church history at the Highland Theological College. Three volumes are available so far, covering the early church; the medieval period; and the renaissance and reformation. Dr. Needham writes very clearly, and these books are a superb introduction to the subject, written for ordinary Christians rather than specialist historians.

Over the years, a variety of other books have also been published. These include doctrinal, evangelistic and biographical books from contemporary authors (not all of whom are Baptists). We welcome offers of manuscripts from potential authors and would also like to hear from anyone who would like to propose and help in the simplification of an older classic. However, we recommend that you contact one of the editors (email editors@gracepublications.co.uk) with your suggestions before embarking on a major writing project. It may be that someone else is already working on something similar! We will not be able to guarantee acceptance of a manuscript until we have seen the final version but we may be able to offer some advice on the suitability of the proposed book and can also provide some guidelines on style and format. This can save time for everyone at a later stage in the editorial process.

The Trust also produces daily Bible-reading notes, the Geneva Bible Notes.