Who are we?
CLC is an international organization committed to the distribution of the Bible, Christian books and a variety of Christian media. Our teams are drawn from many nations, denominations and backgrounds. All are dedicated to serving the Lord Jesus Christ and to the task of helping others to know Him better through the materials we distribute.
CLC is established in 57 countries. It is represented by more than 180 bookshops, 18 distribution warehouses and 18 publishing houses. The CLC work in each country is set up independently. We are united by our common vision, goals and International Constitution.
However, CLC is more than a chain of bookshops, rather it is our desire to see people's lives changed though making evangelical literature available to all nations so that people may come to faith and maturity in Christ. It is an established fact that a large percentage of people converting to Christianity do so through the reading of a Christian book.
The organization was founded in England in 1941 and today has its International Headquarters in Sheffield, United Kingdom.
The Vision is Born
In the early days of World War II, a young couple, Ken and Bessie Adams, heard Jesus' call to" feed my sheep." Together they worked with the Friends Evangelistic Band in England, holding tent meetings and visiting homes.
On many of these visits, they found that they had been preceded by others who left literature, especially Jehovah's Witnesses. Ken declared, "I cannot stand by and … not do something about spreading the truths of the Gospel." So he and Bessie visited homes armed with good Christian literature.
Fired by his passion for literature distribution, Ken rented some upstairs rooms in Colchester, named "The Evangelical Publishing House.". This took place even when the government was severely limiting publishing and the opening of bookshops in wartime England.
The Adams felt led to align themselves with the WEC International, with plansto help that organization establish bookshops in England. Norman Grubb of WEC was thrilled with the potential of a string of bookshops. Requests, opportunities, and funding began to present themselves to Ken and Bessie, resulting in the formation of CLC as an autonomous ministry established on 1 November 1941.
By the end of the war, there were six literature centres across England and a work serving German Prisoners of War. Growth continued with God's grace and blessing and today CLC serves in 57 countries where 700 men and women of diverse nationalities are joining hands to feed a world hungry for print.
The Evangelical Publishing House