Short trip to N. Ireland

On the summit of Slieve Donard

Just before Easter I was back in N. Ireland and this time I was accompanied by Erich from our church in Germany. He has a growing interest in the work of CEF and he was also glad for the opportunity to see some of our stunning scenery. Where better to bring him than Slieve Donard - the highest point in Northern Ireland.

As well as dropping in on family, the main reason for my visit was to attend the annual meetings of the CEF Specialized Book Ministry. The ministry was set up in 1995 by Sam Doherty who had then just 'retired' as European Directory of CEF. He had a desire and a vision to write a number of books that would be helpful to people in Gospel ministry to children across the world. He believed that this could be done and that the books should be provided free of charge!

Erich on the Mourne Wall at Windy Gap

It was a privilege to talk again with Sam who is now 84 years old. The Lord has been gracious to allow him in these 17 years to write 39 titles for children's workers. These books (devotional books, training manuals and visualized doctrinal lessons) are now available in 67 languages. There are now over 2 million books in print (2,151,400 to be exact)!

Back in 2005 I was invited to become a trustee of ACEW (Assisting Children's Evangelists Worldwide). We meet regularly to hear reports, to make larger decisions and to give general direction to the ministry. This year is a very significant year as SBM will make a transition that will see the closure of the administrative and distribution centre in Lisburn, N. Ireland.

Sam Doherty

ACEW will continue as a trust; maintaining the printing rights for the books and administering donations to continue assisting children's evangelists worldwide. However the SBM ministry will cease to exist as it becomes an integral part of CEF International Literature ministry under the directorship of my good friend and colleague Bogdan Bassara.

I have been an advocate of full integration and I am thankful to all involved who have worked to establish the necessary conditions for this to happen. I see this as a very positive development for the following reasons:

• Writing: Sam has now completed writing. It's important that we move into a new phase of ensuring that this legacy is preserved for many years to come.
• Partnership: Revival Movement Association in N. Ireland prints Christian literature for free distribution worldwide. They are now printing huge amounts of literature for CEF including SBM titles.
• Leadership: We now have an international literature director and team. It's important that we submit to the existing structures and utilise the personnel already in place. Priorities can be set by those who have the overall picture. Needs are shared and assessed through the existing channels.
• Distribution: We can utilise the existing distribution programmes through international headquarters:
• Teacher Packs - A means of providing teachers in non-regular programmes with resources for training and teaching. These packs can reach areas where no CEF work exists and can often be the means of a new work starting. Selected items from SBM publications will be included in these packs. (SBM have been successfully sending out teacher packs for many years.)
• Boxes of Books (BoB) - provides teachers of CEF Good News Clubs in less developed countries with a 5-year cycle of teaching materials. Included in the box are some items from SBM.
• Technology: Recent months have seen an explosion in the digital book world. Most SBM titles are available as free PDF downloads. To build on this trend a new international website offering free resources is to be launched later this year.

In a recent article to CEF workers worldwide, Bogdan Bassara wrote: "...I would like to express deep gratitude to Sam Doherty for being an example and great teacher to us. I would also like to thank Terry and Wilma Flannigan for their commitment to travel and promote the ministry. These people and all the team involved in Specialized Book Ministry in Ireland are leaving a lasting fruit of the ministry that will continue to be a blessing."

Request titles or download now by clicking here