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Touch a Nation
Touch a Nation gives your church a committed link with a national Bible Society in a needy and pressured nation.You may also be interested in...
Bible a Month
Your gift - the Bible every month.Your regular monthly gift of £4 brings the Bible to those hungry for its life-changing message - month after month after month.
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Become a volunteer
People like you are needed in the fight against Bible poverty.Just a little of your time, energy and action can make a real contribution.
Making the Bible affordable
Some of the greatest demand for the Bible comes from among the world’s poorest communities. For millions, many who are ‘living’ on less that 60p a day, the Bible is simply a luxury they can’t afford.
The Bible impacts Ethiopian prisoners
It was as a prisoner in an Ethiopian jail that Gerba Addisie joined a Bible listening group. Expressing his thanks in a letter, he said, ‘The Word of God gives me peace for my life in the prison. I have received Jesus Christ as my personal saviour. But even though I am a Christian, I don’t have a Bible. Currently we are using one Bible for 40 prisoners.’
It is because of this need that Bible Society has helped provide tens of thousands of Bibles for prisoners in Ethiopia’s jails. And reports from prison staff say there now there’s less aggression in prison yards and people treating each other with more respect.
As well as full Bibles, we distribute New Testaments, portions and selections. These are often specially designed for different audiences, such as students, refugees or new Christians.
- In its first 50 years, by 1854, Bible Society had distributed nearly 20 million copies of Scripture.
- In its first 100 years, Bible Society had distributed 180 million copies of Scripture.
- Today, we distribute more than 25 million Bibles a year.
- Since 2006, Bible distribution has risen by around five per cent each year.
- In a single year, just under 400 million Scripture publications were handed out – equivalent to one for every single person living in South America.
- In a single year 28 million New Reader Portions were given out, reflecting the work Bible Society does to combine Bible distribution with literacy programmes.
The Bible impacts children
‘I have never had a book about Jesus before, so now I’m really looking forward to reading my new Children’s Bible and finding out more about him.’
14-year-old Marieta, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Bible Society has helped to subsidise and distribute Bibles around the world, including:
- 50 million Bibles to Christians in China, where a standard Bible costs about $2 US – the equivalent to 20 eggs.
- More than 250,000 free Gospels – in English, Italian, Spanish and French – to young people attending a global Catholic conference in Australia in 2008.
- 50,000 Gospels, 10,000 Chinese-English Bibles and 30,000 Chinese-English New Testaments were printed and distributed at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. They even carried the Olympic Games logo.
'The Bible means so much to me'
Lucas Tyalithi is one of the lucky prisoners at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, South Africa. He has his own Bible in his mother tongue, Xhosa.
'The Bible means so much to me' says Lucas, who is serving a nine-year sentence for robbery and hopes to be granted parole in 2011. Bible Society of South Africa has recently sent a consignment of Bibles to Pollsmoor, funded by a single Bible Society supporter.