1921-Present
Judson Training Manuals and Judson Graded Series by Judson Press
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania PA
The Baptist Publication Society (now Judson Press) began in 1824 as an agency to produce Christian literature for the public and has never lost that commitment. In 1920-21, “the publication of a series to be known as Judson Training Manuals was authorized”[1] thus capitalizing on the good name of the great missionary vital to American Baptist life. In 1945 it reported that the Society was publishing 38 different units of graded and other materials just in the children’s division.[2]
Benjamin P. Browne became editor-in-chief of the American Baptist Publication Society, a man remarkably suited to the task. In his first full report to the constituency, he made his position crystal clear:
While our materials have always been definitely pointed to the winning of boys and girls to Christ and his Kingdom, evangelism will be given an even larger place in our materials… Our materials will remain true to our historic Baptist faith and principles—infused with the missionary message and passion….
Under Dr. Browne’s direction, the staff launched a new curriculum. The Judson Graded Series, in 1947. By 1955, Browne could write that
“this new Judson curriculum for American Baptist churches is surpassing expectations, and we are happy to learn that American Baptist teaching materials for the Sunday church schools are now enjoying a wider use than at any time in the last twenty-five years.”[3]
The full title of this curriculum is now “Journeys Judson Bible Lessons” and is listed on the Judson Press website as “Journeys.”
[Compiler’s Note: Neal Davis recalls, “…when I was nine years old, my parents moved off the farm to West Plains, Missouri. This is where I first came across the name of Adoniram Judson (circa 1945); my junior-age Training Union group in the First Baptist Church of West Plains was name the ‘Judson Union,’ so, my awareness of Judson as a man and missionary goes back some 70 years.”][4]
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[1] Daniel Gurden Stevens, The First Hundred Years of The American Baptist Publication Society (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1924), p. 106.
[2] Slaght, p. 178.
[3] Ibid., pp. 178-179
[4] Neal Davis in an email to Jerry Cain, June 28, 2022.