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Canaan Christian Centre is run by an inter-denominational Christian trust. The
centre was officially opened by the entertainer Roy Castle in November 1979 with
the support of local Christians and churches.
The trust was called CANAAN - ( the land of promise) as we very much sensed that
The Lord had responded to the prayers of many before us and had brought the work
into being. Since then we have known His provision and faithfulness over the
years as the vision and work has steadily grown, from small beginnings.
The initial vision was for Canaan to be a Christian Bookshop and Counselling
Centre, but it was to widen into being a resource centre in serving the churches
and local community in various ways and in encouraging and participating
in mission here and abroad.
Our Bookshop which is a member of Indepth, a group of independent Christian
bookshops has a large stock of Christian Books, Bibles, Cds, Videos, Computer
Software, Cards and gifts.
We also have a coffee lounge for drinks and cakes available for our customers
and a counselling room to offer prayer and help to any requiring it.
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The Canaan
Bookshop Story. |
| Many
will know of Canaan Christian Book Centre in Staines High Street, but may not
know how it came into being. In this article Andy Gilmour, who has been the
manager since its inception in 1979 gives its history. |
| How it
all started |
| There are
probably still a number of people in the area who will remember the first
Christian Bookshop in Staines. It was started in the old Johnson and Clarke’s
store opposite Debenhams on 2nd April 1973. Six months later it moved to its own
premises in Woodthorpe Road, Ashford. It was started and owned by a Miss
Woodford, who had put all her savings into starting the Richmond Christian
Bookshop when she retired from the Civil Service. Her vision was large, she
envisaged Christian outreach along the Thames Valley and she had a special
concern for young people. Eventually she handed over both shops to Scripture
Union, the bookshop in Ashford, managed by Emil Ernst, closed in 1978. |
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 This left a
vacuum and some people continued to pray for a new shop to be opened. In 1979 an
offer was made to the churches to have part of the Book Bargains premises in
Kingston Road, then owned by a philanthropist businessman, Gordon Lansborough.
He was not a believer himself, but he was open to the project and let us have
the shop rent-free for the first year. At the same time as this offer was made,
I had just resigned my post as Head of R.E. in a local comprehensive school and
was looking for the next step, which was not long in coming. Following a meeting
with Revd Brian Dupont of Staines Congregational and Revd Terry Jones of Ashford
Baptist. I found myself in the position as the manager of this new venture to be
known as Canaan Christian Book Centre. (The name had come after a trip to the
Holy Land between leaving my job and the opening of the bookshop). |
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| Canaan was
officially opened on November 3rd 1979, by the entertainer, Roy Castle, who had
only recently become a Christian. Needless to say, he drew a large crowd, which
meant we got off to a good start. |
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Canaan was
established as a charitable trust with the broader aim of promoting the
Christian faith. It soon became clear that the bookshop was to be an important
part, but not the total sum of the ministry, as we were often called to be a
catalyst for renewal in the area. We were supported by many individuals and
churches.
Authors meetings with good speakers such as Colin Urquhart, David Pawson, Selwyn
Hughes and Fred Lemon were regular events. At one such event over 1000 people
packed St. Peters Church and Hall to hear Revd. Colin Urquhart speak. Everyone
was amazed, not least the vicar at the time! |
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| The name
‘Canaan’ which means the biblical land of promise was very apt as we were later
to see God’s provision over the years that followed. |
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| 1984 and
beyond |
The year
1984 stays in our memory, not for its ‘Orwellian’ connotations of doom, but
rather as a year of Mission. In the North, Billy Graham was conducting Mission
England and closer to  home the Argentine evangelist, Luis Palau was preaching in
London. Many local churches were involved and Canaan played its part by
organising coaches to Q.P.R. Football Stadium. It was a time of expectation, the
results were probably better in the North, but it was good to be involved in
fulfilling our great commission. We got involved with evangelism to young people
too with a group called CCYO. Christian book selling, at that time, was at one
of its peaks, so much so that we had been able to take on another full time
member of staff. |
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| The
following year the news came that Canaan’s premises in Kingston Road, were to be
bought by the old Staines firm, Johnson and Clarke’s (now Keep Able) and not
having our own lease, we were required to move swiftly. Our friends at the
Methodist Church, who were then in the Kingston Road, came to our rescue. They
kindly offered us the use of their vestibule and balcony to trade from until we
could find suitable premises. |
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 About six
months later we were able to move into our current location, which had
previously been a wool shop, next to the old fish shop, by the railway bridge.
Behind this shop was an old greengrocers stall and it was not to be long before
we began to envisage the potential for expansion. Two years later, we purchased
the lease with the intention of building on the site thereby extending our
premises. The lady who owned the greengrocers had become a Christian and was
keen for us to have it. A clear indication for us to proceed came when all the
necessary finance to buy the lease, arrived by the date required. Until we were
able to get planning permission, we used the site for selling Tearcraft items.
The building work was an exercise in faith, for we had to depend on the Lord to
provide the resources to build it. Gifts and loans were given in the region of
£60,000, all the loans were paid back within 2 years. The coffee shop extension
was opened in April 1990, by the Mayor of Spelthorne and a good crowd gathered
outside to give thanks to God for his faithfulness and provision.
Initially the coffee shop attracted a whole new clientele and subsequently this
helped to bring an increase to sales. At this time I headed off to South Africa
for a welcome 3-month sabbatical and a young man, from there, began work in our
coffee shop. This was an exciting time for both Canaan and South Africa, which
was emerging into new freedom after many years of oppression. |
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| The
expansion of Canaan to include a coffee shop as well as a bookshop, helped us
onto the next stage of the vision – that of Christian Counselling. We now had a
room to listen and help people with their problems. We established links with
the Association of Biblical Counsellors, who helped us with training courses and
supervision. |
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| Over the
years we have run several courses in this area for people in local churches and
we have seen many people come to seek help for various situations. |
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Mission has
also played a significant part in this period. We supported a new work beginning
in France, that of Bethanie, a Christian retreat house in Normandy started by
Bill and Liz Gordon from St Michael’s, Ashford. (This is a story in its own
right).
Also some of us went on trips to the newly opened country of Albania, to take in
Bibles and aid to this the poorest and most repressed country in Europe. Joy
Frith, who had worked in Canaan for 10 years and her husband David left to work
as missionaries in South America with Latin Link and David Harrington who had
been a Christian worker in the area for some years and closely associated with
Canaan, established his own trust – Hatikvah. |
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| Into the
new millennium |
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 In 2000 we
took the decision to reduce the size of the coffee shop, as many new coffee
shops and restaurants were opening in Staines. However, we maintained an area
for refreshment on a self-service basis. The space has now been used by a larger
children’s resource area. Staines continues to expand and develop as a shopping
centre and so the need for a Christian Resource Centre in the town becomes so
evident.
Our bookshop is now staffed by an excellent team of both paid and voluntary
Staff, who come from several different churches and who are committed to serving
God and the community in this way. |
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It is
encouraging to see how Canaan’s vision for unity between the Churches has grown
over the years and we have become a link point for the ‘Churches Together’ work
in the area.
Also we now work closely with other interchurch groups. Barry Mockford, founder
of Christian Pages and Twenty Thirty, joined us as our bookkeeper and helps to
promote joint church activities. Then there is FACT and East to West, who work
in schools and churches in the area, with young people. |
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The needs
of the world and of individuals is still, we believe, met by the message of the
Good News of Jesus Christ. We are glad that we have had a part in sharing that
message and look forward to continuing to do so into the future. |
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If you
would like to know more about the work of Canaan, then please contact us or
visit the bookshop, which is open Monday to Saturday.
121 High Street, Staines, Middx TW18 4PD
Tel: 01784 457194
Email:
info@canaanbookshop.co.uk[Back
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