The Bible Society

Bible Society girl

The Bible Society began in 1804 as the British and Foreign Bible Society. Today there are Bible Societies in many countries around the globe which work together to bring God’s revelation, inspiration and wisdom to people in all walks of life.

In the UK and other Western countries, this means developing initiatives to show that the Bible is still relevant in the twenty-first century. SUSA is a project aimed at bringing an awareness of God’s Word to the UK’s government. You’ve Got the Time sees the New Testament dramatised in 40 half-hour audio clips by Riding Lights Theatre Company and is designed for busy people who want to listen to the Bible in the car or on their MP3 players. The 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version provided many other opportunities for promoting the Bible in 2011.

In the developing world, the need is for Bible translation and Bible distribution. In many places such as China and parts of Africa and SE Asia, there is a great thirst for the Bible but few people can afford to buy their own copy. Bible Society aims to subsidize the cost so that more people can have a copy of the scriptures. Also, in places where the majority of people are illiterate, audio versions of the Bible are often used, such as the Proclaimer. (Through Mission Unwrapped, you can give a Proclaimer for £40!)

St John’s has partnered with Bible Society for a number of years. Through the Bible-a-Month club, individuals at St John’s give more than 100 Bibles each month. If you are interested in joining Bible-a-Month, where for £4 each month you can give a Bible to someone in need, just ring 01793 418222. It’s a great way to make a great difference in someone’s life.

Also, St John’s has developed links with the Bible Society of Tanzania through the Touch a Nation scheme. At the end of 2011, St John’s s was able to give £2,500 to the work of Bible Society in Tanzania.

A team from St John’s visited the headquarters of Bible Society Tanzania in Dodoma in November 2010 and met with the General Secretary, Mkunga Mtingele. The staff there are very involved in the Faith Comes by Hearing initiative which sees groups of people gathering in villages to listen to the Bible and discuss what they have heard. Currently, there are 5,000 listening groups with 80-100 people attending each group! Another program which has taken off in Tanzania is the Good Samaritan project which uses biblical principles to teach people how to live in a community that is suffering the debilitating effects of HIV/AIDS. Because of our close co-operation with Bible Society in Tanzania we were able to send 100 Swahili Bibles to students at the Amani Christian Training Centre in the city of Iringa. It only took one email, and two days later the Bibles had been delivered!

It is exciting to be part of Bible Society’s work. To give the living Word of God to those without hope is indeed a privilege. Let us continue in prayer as we chip away at the huge task before us:
• More than 4,500 languages still wait for even one book of the Bible
• Although a billion people can’t read, only 3% of languages have the Bible in audio.
• Every 5 seconds someone goes blind but the Bible exists in Braille in only 30 languages.
• A billion people live on less than 60p a day, making the Bible a luxury they cannot afford.
• In our own land the Bible is no longer a point of reference for everyday life.