Tony Cummings looks at the fascinating history of a praise and worship publishing phenomenon, SONGS OF FELLOWSHIP.

Songs of Fellowship

In the winter of 1978, Nigel Coltman walked through the warehouse of Kingsway a depressed and dejected man. The company which he'd joined a few months before were seemingly about to go bust.

MGO was started by Peter Meadows, David Payne and Geoff Shearn in 1965 in a wave of pioneering idealism. Its releases on Key Records by artists like Graham Kendrick, Adrian Snell and John Pantry were the very foundation-blocks of the Christian music scene. By the '70s MGO's publishing arm, Thankyou Music, had begun to move into publishing the songs emanating from Britain's charismatic renewal. The Cobham Fellowship agreed to record a selection of modern praise and worship songs based on those used during the Capel Bible Week. 'A New Sound' was a huge seller. But even MGO's moving into the spare offices of book-publisher Kingsway Publications in Eastbourne and changing its name to Kingsway Music, seemed unlikely to save the company. The staff, once 20, was down to three: Geoff Shearn, Pat Herridge and Nigel Coltman. Remembers Coltman: "We were broke. It was really depressing. We had all this vision and a sense that God was leading us. I was wandering around the Kingsway Publications's warehouse feeling depressed when I stumbled across this pile of scruffy pink songbooks which had been chucked in the rubbish heap. Out of curiosity, I picked one up. I saw it was called 'Songs Of Fellowship'. The title struck me as a good one. Back in the office I found out that the songbooks were originally published in the States by the Community Of Celebration, then distributed by Fountain Trust and were now out of print. I got on the phone and was told no-one would mind if Kingsway Music took over the title. Since Geoff and I were already planning a songbook that would include the songs Thankyou Music had collected, we used 'Songs Of Fellowship' and put it on both the songbook and on the second album. The album cost 800 quid to record and sold 33,000 copies! God gave us that album and from that time the company went from strength to strength." 'Songs Of Fellowship Book 1' appeared in the summer of 1979 containing just 53 songs.

The publication was a precarious venture. But the Crusade For World Revival generously joined Kingsway Music and Kingsway Publications to sponsor 3,000 copies out of a total printing of 8,000. Sales took off immediately. Inadvertently, Kingsway had stumbled across a hugely in-demand product. The songs of the charismatic renewal were just beginning to creep from Britain's pioneering house-churches into the mainstream denominational churches and 'Songs Of Fellowship' quickly became the premier source book. Geoff and Nigel went to work collecting sample tapes, visiting Christian events and churches, to expand the songbook. In 1981 the first full-sized edition (159 songs) of 'Songs Of Fellowship' appeared.

Not all the songs published in 'Songs Of Fellowship' were Thankyou Music copyrights. Songs from American catalogues and New Zealand's Scripture In Song also began to appear. But Thankyou Music was, by now, THE company that aspiring worship songwriters would turn to once they'd composed new material. In layout, Kingsway Publications were able to add their expertise to the songbooks. Lyrics were arranged alphabetically, guitar chords were shown.

In 1981 Nigel Coltman left Kingsway Music (he returned in 1985) but continued as songbook editor. In 1983 Kingsway Music finally merged with Kingsway Publications and Geoff Shearn became director of the new music department. 'Songs Of Fellowship 2' was published in 1983 and book three in 1985. By the mid-eighties, Songs Of Fellowship had become such a byword for praise and worship that Kingsway launched a Songs Of Fellowship record label. In 1985, in response to the criticism that the new churches had thrown out centuries of timeless hymnody, a 'Hymns Of Fellowship' was published. In 1987 'Songs Of Fellowship 1,2,3 and 'Hymns Of Fellowship' were published in an integrated edition and in 1989 Book 4 made its appearance. Now, in September 1991, Kingsway will be publishing a new edition 'Songs Of Fellowship For The 90's'. Over 650 songs, featuring the latest from Graham Kendrick, Noel Richards, Chris Bowater and dozens more, together with seasonal hymns and songs for Easter and Christmas (which have been included for the first time).

'Songs Of Fellowship' is a staggering success story. The integrated Songs and Hymns edition alone has sold over one million copies worldwide. Thousands of churches have found a greater freedom and joyfulness in their worship through the songbooks. Says Nigel: "The world has changed greatly since the MGO concerts in the late '60s and the first volume of 'Songs Of Fellowship' in 1979. But I believe 'Songs Of Fellowship' is still meeting the changing needs of the people of God in this country, the changing needs and the expression of a worshipping people."