Your Seed, God’s Harvest
My dear friend, I have a story to tell you. Although we don’t know each other, I have felt your prayers and h...
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Many people still face barriers to the Bible. Help someone experience the life-changing power of Scripture today.
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God speaks through Scripture. Yet many people can't hear clearly or respond fully because real barriers still stand in the way.
When people can't understand Scripture, they believe God doesn't speak to them. Bible translation changes lives by helping waiting people encounter the God whose message is for everyone.
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Poverty, persecution, and inaccessible formats prevent millions from meeting Jesus in the Bible. Global Scripture distribution through print, visual, audio, and digital channels helps reach every person who longs to experience God's Word.
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When the Bible feels like background noise in a modern world, its message is hard to hear. Relevant, timely, and thoughtful Scripture resources invite people to meet God where they are and build their lives on a firm foundation.
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The Bible can be intimidating, confusing, or even connected to past hurt. Trustworthy guidance on Scripture's meaning, message, and value for our lives helps people experience the truth and light of God's Word for themselves.
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When people can't understand Scripture, they believe God doesn't speak to them. Bible translation changes lives by helping waiting people encounter the God whose message is for everyone.
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Join us in celebrating all the ways people encounter God in his Word. Watch a testimony of God speaking through Scripture or share your own.
My dear friend, I have a story to tell you. Although we don’t know each other, I have felt your prayers and h...
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Fernando* is Miskito, one of the largest indigenous people groups in Central America. At 23 years old, h...
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From fire stations and sheriff ’s patrols to military barracks and veterans’ homes, your gift of the Bi...
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John Lindsey, USA
On May 11th, 1816, 60 delegates representing 36 local Bible Societies gathered at Manhattan's Garden Street Dutch Reformed Church with a single, unifying purpose: to set aside political and denominational differences and ensure that every man, woman, and child in America could have access to the Bible. Among the founders of American Bible Society were figures who had already shaped the young nation: Elias Boudinot, former president of the Continental Congress and American Bible Society's first president; "The Star-Spangled Banner" lyricist Francis Scott Key; novelist James Fenimore Cooper; and Supreme Court Justice John Jay. What began as a shared conviction among civic and religious leaders has grown into a movement spanning translation, distribution, trusted Scripture resources, and digital Bible innovation across the globe.
Six months after its founding, American Bible Society released its first Scripture: an English Bible in the King James Version. Ten thousand copies were printed using stereotype plates, a cutting-edge publishing technology adopted by the organization in service of wider distribution. In the same year, American Bible Society awarded its first free grant of 300 Bibles to the Steuben County Bible Society in Bath, New York, and presented 65 Bibles to the crew of the U.S.S. John Adams. Since then, generous supporters have provided more than 60 million free Scripture resources to members of the Armed Forces and their families through American Bible Society.
American Bible Society's founders envisioned reaching "the palaces of the great and the hamlets of the small" with the good news of Jesus—and in 1823, that vision turned global. A $1,000 gift to British missionary William Carey helped fund Scripture translation work in India; Carey and his team would go on to publish roughly 212,000 copies of the Scriptures in more than 40 languages. It was the first investment into what would become a defining pattern: sharing God's Word across the United States and around the world.
More than 180 years ago, American Bible Society pioneered a new way of giving: the Charitable Gift Annuity. Since then, thousands of supporters have used this reliable giving method to secure guaranteed income for themselves or their loved ones while helping to put the Bible in the hands and hearts of people around the world. American Bible Society has never missed a payment through this trusted program, and it remains a reliable way to multiply impact for the Kingdom.
During the Civil War, American Bible Society distributed more than 3 million copies of the New Testament and the Bible to soldiers on both sides of the conflict. In many cases, scriptures were carried into Southern war zones under "Flags of Truce," reaching people who sought comfort and hope. When formerly enslaved Black Americans received Scripture at Fort Monroe in 1864, one eyewitness reported: "they have kissed the Bibles and Testaments when given them, wept over them, carried them upon their persons, and rejoiced in them with joy unspeakable.” As the young nation pursued justice, unity, and hope through its darkest days, God's Word helped light the path forward.
American Bible Society marked its centennial with public celebrations in Washington, D.C. and New York City. President Woodrow Wilson delivered an address honoring the milestone, which came at a critical moment: within a year, the United States would enter World War I. American Bible Society's Special Committee on War Work raised funds to provide 1 million pocket-sized New Testaments to American troops. By war's end, more than 4.9 million Scriptures had reached American troops, and close to 1.9 million more reached combatants on other sides of the conflict.
As the Great Depression gave way to World War II, American Bible Society kept finding new ways to reach people in crisis. During World War II, it provided more than 7 million Scripture resources to U.S. Armed Forces and introduced waterproof New Testament containers for lifeboats and life rafts. President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally recognized the organization's work, writing that the Bible would lead the way to world peace and freedom.
American Bible Society became a founding member of United Bible Societies, a global fellowship organized in Heath, England. What started as a wartime-era partnership is now a thriving network that distributes Scripture in more than 240 countries and territories and coordinates Bible translation, literacy training, disaster relief, and Bible innovation around the world. This unique model helps multiply the impact of each Bible society as they serve together for a common cause.
To mark its 150th anniversary, American Bible Society published the New Testament in the Good News Translation. Designed to speak in everyday, accessible English, the New Testament sold more than 30 million copies within its first five years—proof that faithful translation and accessibility could go hand-in-hand. Billy Graham spoke at the anniversary celebration at Lincoln Center, and President Lyndon B. Johnson designated 1966 "The Year of the Bible." A decade later, the complete Good News Bible was published, featuring globally recognized illustrations by Annie Vallotton.
American Bible Society played a major role in the making of The JESUS® Film, which is based on the Good News Translation of the Gospel of Luke. What started as a modest release grew into one of the most widely translated films in history—now available in more than 1,000 languages and dialects and credited with introducing hundreds of millions of people to the story of Jesus in their own language. This film, along with other gospel films, is a key step in American Bible Society's End-to-End program, which is active in more than 80 countries and has reached more than 30 million people with the gospel.
American Bible Society sponsored the first printing of Chinese Bibles at Amity Press in Nanjing, China. Just a decade earlier, this event would have seemed impossible. But since then, this partnership that has produced more than 260 million Bibles in 229 different languages—serving not only the Chinese people, but many millions of people outside China, too.
American Bible Society began offering digital Scripture and Bible resources online, including Bibles.com andemail-based Daily Bible Reading devotionals. It marked the beginning of a shift that would come to define the next chapter of the mission—meeting people where they are, on the platforms and devices shaping everyday life, with the hope of Jesus.
In the days following the September 11th attacks, American Bible Society staff ministered at Ground Zero, distributing water, clothing, and Scripture to first responders and survivors. The organization quickly published and distributed a Scripture portion titled God Is Our Shelter and Strength, offering spiritual comfort in the immediate aftermath of national trauma. This resource was updated after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has remained a source of hope for people facing crisis.
American Bible Society helped launch its first Bible-based trauma healing program in a war zone in East Africa. Since then, this model has been developed by a multitude of global ministry partners and contextualized for the United States as Restoring Hope, the healing and resilience ministry of American Bible Society.
Along with its partners in the Every Tribe Every Nation alliance, American Bible Society adopted a common standard for archiving, cataloging, and distributing digital translations. This cooperative effort led to the Digital Bible Library, which is now the largest online Bible library in the world. It houses text, audio, video, print, and braille Scripture in thousands of languages. Since 2011, the Digital Bible Library has become part of American Bible Society's Digital Bible Lab, which houses several tools and systems aimed at radically expanding Bible access through technological innovation.
American Bible Society celebrated with YouVersion as it marked 1 billion downloads of the Bible App, which sources 98% of its Scripture content and translations from the Digital Bible Library. This key partnership highlights the power of technology in sharing the Bible around the world and emphasizes the importance of format in reaching people with the good news of Jesus Christ.
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