equip the Church

Crossway is a remarkable publisher. Precise theology. Beautiful production. A catalog that has shaped a generation of evangelical readers. If you have benefited from their books, you are not alone. Most of us have.

But here is what you need to know about Crossway.

They did not build what they built by trying to be someone else. They built it because they are who they are, where they are, with what they have. They are embedded in a world of Reformed conferences, gifted authors, an English-speaking audience of millions, and a Christian retail infrastructure that took decades to construct. That ecosystem does not exist in Nairobi. It does not exist in Budapest or Beirut or Paris or Yaoundé. And it barely exists in most of the English-speaking world outside the United States.

Crossway does not do events. They don’t need to. They are already part of a robust ecosystem they can serve and benefit from. They are able to be part of hundreds of like-minded events per year without any organization on their part. In most international contexts, that ecosystem does not exist yet. There may be a few conferences, but they are likely not on the same theological page. A single evening with fifty pastors who have never met each other could change the trajectory of your ministry for the next decade.

When you benchmark yourself against Crossway, you don’t just feel discouraged. You start making the wrong decisions. You optimize for what they do instead of what your context actually needs. You chase catalog depth when you need relational presence. You invest in cover design when you need a conference budget. You measure print runs when you should be counting the pastors you know by name.

The Reformation spread because Luther understood his context. He used the printing press, yes. But he also wrote in German, not Latin, because he knew who he was for. He was not trying to out-publish Rome. He was trying to reach people Rome was not reaching.

Your context is where you are called to serve. The cities, the countries, the language, the theological gap, the community that does not yet exist but needs to; that is not a liability to overcome on the way to becoming Crossway in your context. That is the whole assignment.

You will probably never be like Crossway. The Church does not need you to be.

Who does your ministry context need you to be?