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The SPCK is the oldest [[Anglican]] [[Christian mission|mission]] organisation in the world, though it is now more ecumenical in outlook and publishes books for a wide range of Christian denominations. It is currently the leading publisher of [[Christians|Christian]] books in the [[United Kingdom]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipg.uk.com/independent-publishing-awards|title=IPG Independent Publishing Awards|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref> and the third oldest independent publisher in the [[United Kingdom|UK]].
== Mission ==
The SPCK has a vision of a world in which everyone is transformed by Christian knowledge. Its mission is to lead the way in creating books and resources that help everyone to make sense of faith.
Education has always been a core part of SPCK's mission.
==History==
=== Publishing and distribution ===
Thomas Bray believed passionately in the power of the printed word. From its earliest days, the SPCK commissioned tracts and pamphlets, making it the third-oldest publishing house in England. (Only the [[Oxford University Press|Oxford]] and [[Cambridge University Press]]es have existed longer.) Very early on, SPCK member [[George Sale]] translated ''The Koran'' into English and this was published in 1734 by the SPCK, much to the praise of [[Voltaire]].
Throughout the 18th century, SPCK was by far the largest producer of Christian literature in Britain.{{cn}} The range of its output was considerable - from pamphlets aimed at specific groups such as farmers, prisoners, soldiers, seamen, servants and slave-owners, to more general works on subjects such as baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion, the Prayer Book, and private devotion. Increasingly, more substantial books were also published, both on Christian subjects and, from the 1830s, on general educational topics as well.
SPCK's early publications were distributed through a network of supporters who received books and tracts to sell or give away in their own localities. Large quantities of Christian literature were provided for the Navy, and the Society actively encouraged the formation of parish libraries, to help both clergy and laity. By the 19th century, members had organized local district committees, many of which established small book depots - which at one time numbered over four hundred. These were overseen by central committees such as the Committee of General Literature and Education. In 1899, the addresses of their "depositories" in London were given as Northumberland Avenue, W.C.; Charing Cross, W.C. and 43 Queen Victoria Street, E.C..<ref>"The Dawn of Day", 256th edition</ref> Six years later, in edition 331, the depository was closed at Charing Cross, but a new one added at 129, North Street in Brighton.
[[Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone]], Westminster, London is a former Anglican church, built in 1828 by Sir [[John Soane]]. By the 1930s, it had fallen into disuse and in 1936 was used by the newly founded Penguin Books company to store books. A children's slide was used to deliver books from the street into the large crypt. In 1937, Penguin moved out to [[Harmondsworth]], and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge moved in. It was their headquarters until 2004, when it moved to [[Diocese of London|London Diocesan House]] in Causton Street, Pimlico. The bookshop moved to Tufton Street, Westminster, in 2003.
On 1 November 2006, St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG) took over the bookshops but continued to trade under the SPCK name, under licence from SPCK. That licence was withdrawn in October 2007. However, some shops continued trading as SPCK Bookshops without licence until the SSG operation was closed down in 2009.{{cn}}
=== SPCK's former book series ===
By the end of 2018, the SPCK had sent Diffusion books to 70% of prisons in the UK. In 2018 alone, it sent out over 6,500 books.
=== Assemblies website ===
In 1999, the SPCK created the assemblies website as a new way in which to promote Christian knowledge amongst the youth of Britain. The aim of the assemblies website is to provide teachers with easy access to free resources, empowering them to deliver high-quality assemblies that make their pupils explore faith and their own beliefs.
Since it was created, the Assemblies website has become a web community where experienced teachers and youth leaders can share their ideas, assembly scripts and tips and tricks for delivering engaging assemblies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assemblies.org.uk/about/about-us/|title=SPCK Assemblies - About |website=Assemblies|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref>
There are now over 1500 assembly scripts on the website. Each month, SPCK commissions 16 new assemblies; 8 for primary schools and 8 for secondary schools. In addition to these, 'rapid response' assemblies may be added within 24 hours of momentous world events.<ref name="spckpublishing.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://spckpublishing.co.uk/assemblies|title=School Assemblies|publisher=SPCK Publishing|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref> Many assemblies focus on Christian themes, but other address pastoral issues common within schools. The Festivals of World Religions section also encourages awareness of other religions and enables teachers to celebrate children of other faiths.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assemblies.org.uk/pri/worldreligions/|title=School Assemblies - Primary|website=Assemblies|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref>
Every month, the assemblies website attracts over 50,000 unique visitors and the most popular assemblies are viewed over 10,000 times.<ref name="spckpublishing.co.uk"/>
In 2018, the SPCK also redeveloped its Welsh language offering, leading to a bank of 600 Welsh language assembly scripts.
=== The African Theological Network Press ===
Together with the [[Akrofi-Christaller Institute|Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture]], the Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa and Missio Africanus, the SPCK founded the African Theological Network Press (the ATNP). The ATNP publishes theology written by Africans on topics that matter to African Christians.
The aim of the ATNP is to be "an ecumenical press serving the church in Africa and the Diaspora through affordable, high-quality, scholarly publications accessible on the continent and globally"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atnpress.com/p/mission-and-vision.html|title=Mission and Vision|access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref> The ATNP is a centralised commissioning and editorial unit, based in [[Nairobi]]. The material is distributed across Africa to be printed locally, which avoids the problems of localised publishing where books rarely make it outside the country in which they are published.
The ATNP seeks to mitigate the dependence of African theological study and teaching on publications from the global North.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=https://spckpublishing.co.uk/african-theological-network-press|title=African Theological Network Press - ATNP|publisher=SPCK Publishing|access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref>
* Simon, Joan. "From charity school to workhouse in the 1720s: The SPCK and Mr Marriott's solution." ''History of education'' 17#2 (1988): 113–129.
* Threinen, Norman J. (1988) ''Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen (1694-1776). German Lutheran Pietist in the English court''. In: ''Lutheran Theological Review'' 12, pp. 56-94.
* Withrington, D. J. "The SPCK and Highland Schools in Mid-Eighteenth Century." ''Scottish Historical Review'' 41.132 (1962): 89-99. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25526694 in JSTOR]
;Journals
* [https://spckpublishing.co.uk/academic/theology ''Theology'']
* [https://archive.today/20081028192655/http://www.spck.org.uk/cat/show.php?9780281046225 ''Readings In Indian Christian Theology'']
== External links==
{{commons category|Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge}}
* [http://www.spckpublishing.co.uk SPCK Publishing], official website for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051022235437/http://www.spckusa.org/wp/ The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge/USA] official website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070614220226/http://www.rfs.scotshome.com/Education_and_Anglicisation.htm Education and Anglicisation: The Policy of the SSPCK toward the education of The Highlander, 1709–1825] by [[Charles W. J. Withers]]
* [http://spckssg.wordpress.com/ SPCK SSG: News, Notes & Info]
* [http://www.sspck.co.uk/index.html Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge] official website of the SSPCK
* [https://www.assemblies.org.uk Assemblies] Assemblies official website
* [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1127179534/findingaid Guide to the Records of The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (as filmed by the AJCP)] at [[National Library of Australia]]
* [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Society%20for%20Promoting%20Christian%20Knowledge%20%28Great%20Britain%29 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (Great Britain)] at [[University of Pennsylvania]]'s [[Online Books Page]]
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/36434/pg36434-images.html Publications of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1902 Catalog)] at [[Project Gutenberg]]
* {{Librivox author |id=17481}}
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