Our Story

The Beginning - The United States of America, New York, Philadelphia

The Guangzhou Era

The Third Stop - Shanghai

The Fourth Stop - Hong Kong

The Fifth Stop- International

The Beginning- The United States of America (1880 - 1882)

1880 in New York, a Chinese American named Kum Sheng Chan after reading a gospel track given to him by a Chinese American pastor, was so moved that he repented and came to the Lord.

After Brother Chan visited a Baptist Bookstore in Philadelphia, he hoped that God would provide China with a print shop of gospel literature, so he prayed to God every day about it.

The Guangzhou Era (1882 - 1932)

In 1882, Chan returned to Guangzhou as the pastor of Dong She Jiao Baptist church, and his prayer for a Baptist bookstore never ceased until he passed away in 1891.

In 1895, Rev. R. E. Chambers, a missionary from Southern Baptist Convention, was sent to Guangzhou to spread the gospel.

In 1899, Rev. Chambers together with other western and Chinese 15 co-workers, founded a private company named Chinese America Baptist Bookstore in Guangzhou, which was the precursor of our Press.

In 1902, after the Boxer's incident, the Bookstore was moved to Shamien in Guangzhou, and erected our own building. During the same year, "The True Light Magazine" was created which was one of the first Chinese Christian magazines in China, defending the Christian faith in an anti-Christian environment.

In 1909, the Board of Directors was created and the bookstore operation was transferred to the Foreign Mission Board of Southern Baptist Convention.

In 1912, the Bookstore continued to expand, and was subsequently moved to Xinghepu in Dongshan of Guangzhou.

In 1915, a five-storey building in Guangzhou's commercial centre was erected and was named "Sunshine Building". The "South China Christian Library" was operating on the ground floor, and publishing ministry had also begun-along with the retail business of Christian magazines in China and the customer service for ordering English Christian books from overseas.

In 1925, the wave of citywide labor strike in Guangzhou persisted, the Bookstore was forced to stop its operation, and the bookstore was relocated to the economically vibrant city in East China, Shanghai.

The Shanghai Era (1932 - 1950)

In 1932, The Bookstore sold its building in Guangzhou, and purchased with a loan an eight-storey building at 209 Yuan Ming Road in Shanghai and the building was named "True Light Building", and the Bookstore was renamed " Chinese Baptist Bookstore".

In 1937,Lugou Bridge incident, the Japanese military invaded China. Western missionaries retreated, and only a few co-workers were left to keep watch. The operation of the Bookstore was deeply disrupted, and the ministry was solely sustained by the rental income from the building.

In 1945, after the Second World War, the Bookstore resumed its operation and continued to publish various teaching materials.

In 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. Missionaries at the operations retreated from China.

The Hong Kong Era (1950-  )

In 1950, missionary Du Xingming printed leaflets in Hong Kong in order to meet the needs of Chinese churches in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas.

In 1952, missionaries Ms. Mary Alexander, Dr. Maurice Anderson and Mr. John Raborn joined the editorial and print work, and established "Baptist Publication Department", in order to continue the ministry of " Chinese Baptist Bookstore".

In 1953, printing of monthly " Our Daily Bread" began; this was the precursor of "Our Daily Bread" devotional quarterly.

In the fall of 1955, the bookstore purchased a building at 322 Prince Edward Road West in Kowloon, and the dedication ceremony was held on November 16.

In 1970, executive director Rev. Princeton Hsu  promoted vigorously the dialogue between Christianity and Chinese culture, and edited "The History of Chinese Baptist Churches".

In 1973, Chinese hymnal "New Songs for Praise" was published.

In 1980, the Publication Department was renamed " Baptist Press".

The International Era (1996-   )

In 1996, the Foreign Mission Board of Southern Baptist Convention transferred its operations and assets of the Press to a new Board of Directors, which consists of appointed and elected directors from Chinese Baptist Convention in six region, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and U.S./Canada.

In 1997 British Government handed over H.K. back to P.R. China.

In 1997, the Press is renamed "Chinese Baptist Press (International) Limited" with a mission to serve the Chinese churches worldwide.

In 1999, the Press celebrated its 100th anniversary at the dawn of the new millennium.