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According to a report which has just been released by the United Bible Societies, the 147 Bible Societies which operate in more than 200 countries distributed 29 391 276 complete Bibles last year. This is 3% more than in the previous year. The majority of these Bibles (12,1 million) were distributed by Bible Societies in North and South America. In Asia and the Pacific Ocean regions nearly 10 million Bibles were distributed, followed by 5,1 million in African countries. A further 2,1 million complete Bibles were distributed in Europe and the Middle East. Besides complete Bibles, Bible Societies distributed more than 11 million Testaments, 15 million Bible Portions and more than 310 Bible Selections throughout the world. Many Bible Societies are closely involved in literacy work in their respective countries and nearly 65 million Bible Portions and Selections specifically prepared for new readers were distributed. In total, Bible Societies distributed a staggering 430 million Scripture items in the world. The Bible Society of South Africa (BSSA) distributed more than 1,3 million Scripture items, including 846 299 complete Bibles, in 131 different languages last year. In serving its mission of making affordable Bibles available for everyone, nearly 74% of these Bibles were standard Bibles – i.e. Bibles which are distributed for less than publication costs. “Although the world was in the grip of one of the biggest recessions in years in 2009, Bible Societies were able to distribute even more Bibles, for which we are extremely grateful,” says Rev Gerrit Kritzinger, the Chief Executive Officer of the BSSA. “However, the task is not complete. Speakers of more than 4 000 languages do not have even one book of the Bible available in their own language. In our own country, recent research by Ipsos-Markinor revealed that 10% of Christian households do not have a single Bible in the house,” he added. “The amazing thing, however, is that this is not just about cold statistics. Behind every Bible is a person who receives it, often for the very first time.” Reports come in from our own country, as well as from Bible Societies around the world, of people whose most valued possession is a Bible of their own. “I have been a Christian for 14 years, but never had my own Bible and today I received one,” tells Chen Guo Zi, an 80-year-old woman who received one of the 4 million Bible which were distributed in China last year.
Pauline received one of the 80 000 Bibles which the Bible Society of Rwanda distributed last year. A victim of the genocide in her country, Pauline says: “I have hope for the future because I believe in God and I believe that He will provide for me each day. My Bible is everything to me because that is where my strength comes from.” The BSSA received a letter from Adolf, a prisoner who received his own Bible. “For me, Adolf, the Bible is a road sign to show me the right way. In prison, I say this with an open heart, the Bible helps you, it gives strength and love and cleans us the way God wants us to be. In times when you feel alone, the Bible comforts. You just have to live the message of the Bible so that others can see it in you.” In 2009 the Bible Society of South Africa supplied 64 313 free copies to 241 prisons, the most ever in one year. ~ 21 July 2010 ~
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