Three children holding open Character Code for Life Bible study books in their own language.

Mission and purpose

Helping the children of the world learn about Jesus

The purpose of International Christian Publishers is to help individuals and churches of all nations learn to worship and serve God in Spirit and in truth by providing tools to guide children in spiritual development, help with humanitarian needs, and train pastors and churches in the ministry of the Gospel.

We do not compete with any other ministry doing similar work. What is unusual about ICP is that everything moves through the local church. The pastors we serve, most of them in developing countries, have no teaching resources and could not buy them at market prices if they did.

Develop

To develop curricula that help transform the lives of children and adults.

Distribute

To work with churches, missionaries and schools to distribute curricula that facilitate the ministry of transformation of lives.

Train

To train teachers who will lead men, women and children to trust Christ in salvation, follow Him in baptism and Christian service, and demonstrate the values of God's holy character in their churches and communities.

Who We Are

The people who write, edit, design and carry the literature.

Bill and Rita Johnson, president and co-founders of International Christian Publishers.

Bill and Rita Johnson

President

Bill is a pastor, educator, editor and missionary who has spent his entire ministry in Christian education, including seventeen years as Editor in Chief of Publications for the American Baptist Association, where he developed Bible-based curricula for more than five thousand churches. He and Rita founded ICP to provide children's literature in the languages of the world. Rita is a children's literature writer and editor. Both taught in public schools before turning to curriculum work.

John and Sharon Sanders, vice president and curriculum editor at International Christian Publishers.

John and Sharon Sanders

Vice President

John is Supervising Editor of the Character Code for Life children's curriculum and Curriculum Editor for Vacation Bible School. He has pastored churches in Arkansas, Texas and Colorado, served five years as Assistant to the Editor for the American Baptist Association, and sits on the board of Missionary Training Ministries. John and Sharon served as missionaries in Romania for ten years and in Colorado for six. They came to ICP in April 2015. Sharon holds two Bible degrees and a nursing degree.

Scott and Becky Pevehouse. Scott is ICP's director of curriculum development.

Scott and Becky Pevehouse

Director of Curriculum Development

Scott represents ICP among churches and associations, teaches in the field, and travels with the ministry to Myanmar and beyond. He carries the same conviction that drives the whole work: to present Jesus, the Light of the world, to the people of the world through Bible curriculum.

Malinda Harrison, graphic design director at International Christian Publishers, at her design workstation.

Malinda Harrison

Graphic Design Director

Malinda is a design and layout artist who has worked in Christian publishing for many years. She joined the Texarkana staff in 2020 and prepares the Vacation Bible School curriculum, Character Code for Life, God's Character and Me and other materials for translation by ICP translators around the world. Her reason for coming to ICP: "I just want to help in a ministry to spread God's Word."

What We Believe

The declaration of faith of International Christian Publishers.

  1. We believe in the plenary verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
  2. We believe in the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
  3. We believe in the Genesis account of creation. Genesis 1, 2
  4. We believe that Satan, the unholy god of this world, is a fallen angel and will end in the lake of fire. Isaiah 14:12-15; Luke 10:18; Revelation 20:10
  5. We believe in the virgin birth and deity of Christ. Matthew 1:18-20; John 1:1, 14; 10:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21
  6. We believe that the spiritual gifts which remain are faith, hope and love. 1 Corinthians 12-14
  7. We believe that man was created in the image of God and that he fell by voluntary sin, plunging the human race into sin. Genesis 1:26; 3:6-24; Romans 5:12, 19
  8. We believe that Jesus suffered death for all mankind and that all who will believe can be saved. Isaiah 53:6; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2
  9. We believe in the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ and in His premillennial, bodily return as the crowning event of the Gentile age. Matthew 28:1-7; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:11-15
  10. We believe that salvation is wholly by grace and that it is forever secure in Christ. John 3:6; Romans 8:9-11; Ephesians 2:18-20; 1 Peter 1:5
  11. We believe that God chastises His children when they are disobedient. Hebrews 12:5-11
  12. We believe that Jesus established His church and that it is always a local, visible assembly of scripturally baptized believers covenanted to carry out the Lord's commission. Matthew 4:18-22; 16:18; 28:19, 20; Ephesians 3:21
  13. We believe that the two pictorial ordinances in the Lord's churches are baptism and the Lord's Supper. Scriptural baptism is the immersion of penitent believers by the authority of a true church in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 8:12, 38; Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 11:1, 2, 17-20, 26
  14. We believe that all associations, fellowships and committees are, and properly should be, servants of and under the control of the churches. Matthew 20:25-28
  15. We believe that the state should have no hand in church matters, and we believe in civil obedience unless the laws and regulations of civil government run contrary to the Holy Scriptures.

Our History

From one man's conviction to presses on three continents.

1999

The ministry begins

Bill Johnson had spent his career building Bible curriculum for churches at home. Working overseas, he found that children in other countries had nothing of the kind in their own language. He and Rita began International Christian Publishers to fix that, starting by finding translators who would render the material into their own tongue.

2016

Character Code for Life, Module 1

What began as a special project for school children in the Philippines grew into a nine-year, six-module curriculum for preschool, primary and intermediate children. Ten years on it is taught in more than a dozen countries and translated into seven languages.

2023

The Philippines building is dedicated

A printshop, warehouse, office and guest apartment on a one-acre campus outside San Fernando, Pampanga. It means Character Code for Life and God's Character and Me are printed in the country that reads them.

Today

Presses in three countries

Offices and printing facilities in Texarkana, the Philippines, Kenya and Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands of books printed, hundreds of churches served, and a building going up near Yangon for the ministry in Myanmar.

Partner with us

We cannot do this without the prayer and financial support of churches and individuals. If that is something you or your church would consider, we would be glad to talk.

Get in touch

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