Africa Speaks member, Pieter Kwant, has announced his retirement from Langham Partnership effective the end of this calendar year. African Christian leaders are grateful to Pieter for the role he has played in the Africa Bible Commentary and the work of Langham Literature, making evangelical books available to theological institutions throughout the continent.
In a recent YouTube, Pieter spoke of the role of Ecclesiastes 11 in his life of faith, trusting God to care for the results of longer-term projects as he remains faithful in his role as a publisher and distributor.
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Pieter Kwant has an appreciation for many aspects of culture, not least art, music, and film, but he has dedicated his life to books in the service of the Lord. Originally from the Netherlands, Pieter wistfully tells of his first encounter with theological books in a bookshop in South Africa where he was rooted to the spot after pulling a book off the shelf and devouring its contents. The bookshop owner no doubt looked on hoping he was going to pay for it after reading it all! Pieter did go on to buy that book along with many more and is still buying them.
It was also in South Africa that Pieter met his wife, Elria, and where he started his first job in the Christian book business. He went on to manage and own a bookshop and came up with many imaginative ways of getting his books in front of potential customers, especially students. But God eventually led Pieter back to Europe, this time to the UK where he and Elria raised their four sons. Pieter first worked for IVP, then for Paternoster where he led the way in publishing theological and biblical monographs, before eventually setting up his own publishing house and book agency, Piquant.
Eventually, Pieter was called to Langham Partnership to be the director of its literature program, focusing on resourcing institutions in the Majority World with evangelical theological books for libraries and students, developing and training writers and publishers, and pioneering partnerships to produce exceptional book projects such as the Africa Bible Commentary.
The need for resourcing colleges and seminaries with contextually relevant books led Pieter to launch a long-term publishing initiative. Langham Creative Projects was formed and has published over 160 titles.
Pieter plans to continue the work of Piquant Editions and Piquant Agency and looks forward to visiting his children in New Zealand whom he hasn’t seen for several years.
Pieter Kwant authored Inside the Rainbow: Seeing and Doing the Book of Revelation (Vol 1) which focuses particularly on Revelation 1–3, and Inside the Rainbow 2: Throne and Seals, which focuses particularly on Revelation 4–8:1.
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Africa Speaks joins Langham Partnership in thanking God for Pieter Kwant incredible service to the world of Christian literature over the decades and praying for God’s rich blessings on his life going forward.
Content has been edited from the Langham Partnership Staff Profile, January 2018 ©2022 Langham Partnership