AFRICA ASIA EUROPE LATIN AMERICA MIDDLE EAST U. S. GOD is on the move Thank you for reaching people from the farthest ends of the earth with your gift of His Word! And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Mark 13:27 NLT ACTION REPORT MAR/APR 2017 VOLUME 13 ISSUE 2
God s Word is changing lives today What We Do Serving the under-resourced Church globally through the provision of Bibles, biblical resources, and training to transform lives worldwide through God s Word. International Ministry Center 1 Bible League Plaza Crete, IL 60417 For more information: 866-825-4636 info@bibleleague.org bibleleague.org FOLLOW US ON But God s message is not bound. 2 Timothy 2:9 ERV God s Word is transforming lives and reaching those in need today, healing broken families and giving hope to those who live in remote and ignored communities. Everywhere God s Word reaches people in a way they can understand and believe, their lives are changed. But opposition to the Gospel is also growing every day through overt persecution of new believers, punishing those who dare to share God s Word in their communities, dividing families, and trying to keep the poor away from Bibles, biblical resources, and training that will encourage faith and grow the Church. Yet, everywhere the Gospel reaches those in need, their lives are transformed because God s message is not bound. This is the story of how God s Word is changing lives throughout the world in 42 countries and 6 regions. You are the reason they have hope today. In a small orphanage in Tamil Nadu, India, the children are learning God s Word each day using Project Philip Bible studies. There are very few believers in the area one of the poorest in India and just one small, underresourced church. But someone like you gave a gift, and God s Word is now changing the lives of the most vulnerable. We needed Bibles for the children and Bible studies in their language, and when we received these from you, we started teaching the orphan children of God s love. 2
Christian faith has been fading fast in Uganda especially among the younger population and in remote and rural areas where people have so little. So, hundreds of kilometers from Kampala, Uganda, God s Word reached a young man named Joseph because you care. When I learned the Bible, my life was changed all because someone came to our village and invited me to study God s Word. Using Project Philip I received hope for my life, Joseph says, and my life has completely changed. And I m thankful for those who showed us how to share God s Word. All this is possible because God s message is not bound. As you enjoy this Action Report, you ll see how God s Word is changing lives throughout the world. And you ll be amazed by the dramatic and important ways you have become part of this ministry. Thank you. In Christ, Lives are being transformed through God s Word Jos Snoep President and CEO bibleleague.org 3
AFRICA God s Word opens Anon s eyes Zimbabwean grandma now believes in the one true God thanks to you Anon Jinjika went to church almost her entire life. But it wasn t until she had the opportunity to study the Word of God you provide that she truly knew Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Now God is moving in her heart and the hearts of women in her village as she helps others to understand His Word so that they, too, will believe in the one true God. Kept from reading the Bible Anon spent many years worshipping in one of Africa s largest churches. In reality, however, it s a sect that twists the Christian faith as it mixes in ancestral worship and other pagan rituals. It also keeps members, especially women, from reading the Bible. That s why this 56-year-old grandmother was so excited when Esther, a young woman in her small village in Zimbabwe, invited her to a Project Philip Bible study. Through your gift, you help to train Bible study leaders like Esther, and give them the Bibles and biblical resources they need to transform lives through God s Word. Salvation has come to my house When Esther began explaining the Bible, I felt a heavy load lift off of me, says Anon. As I studied God s Word, my spiritual eyes were opened and I was totally transformed. I now have a Bible in my own Shona language that I can read and understand. I used to be a church goer, but now I am a Christian. I know who I am in Christ. Jesus is in the center of my life. I have peace of mind and my faith is increasing. Salvation has come to my house! she exclaims. This is the difference you made in Anon s life and the lives of others across Africa. Thank you! 4
With your help, people across Africa are studying God s Word and understanding what they are reading. Your gift of God s Word is opening hearts and transforming lives and people like Anon are putting their faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you! bibleleague.org 5
ASIA Ching knows English and Jesus thanks to you! Bible-based Literacy is opening doors to the Gospel in China Christians are just 5 percent of China s 1.3 billion population, and growing in their faith in Jesus is a constant challenge. So is evangelism outreach. But today, with the approval of the China Christian Council and the country s registered churches, you re helping to open the doors to the Gospel through Bible-based Literacy. While the program offers a nonthreatening way to help grow God s Church in China, still challenges remain. Families often put up roadblocks to the Christian faith. Ching s story Going to church was always forbidden in my family, begins Ching. The words her father, a staunch communist and atheist, shared with his children when they were young are etched in her memory. You can do anything you like, but you cannot believe in religion. She learned a bit of English in high school, but no longer practiced it once she graduated. Ching knew that English skills would increase her options for work and education, but that didn t matter much to her until she had children of her own. When her oldest son recently came to her with questions about his English homework, Ching couldn t help him. The more he asked for help, the more frustrated she became. Today this young mother is learning English alongside her young son through Bible-based Literacy. I am learning English in a very systematic way that I can easily understand, she says. I am also learning about the Bible and the Father in heaven. Without the Bible-based Literacy program, that would have been unthinkable. Words of thanks With my whole heart, I say thank you to the people who help support this program, adds Ching. You have helped me to learn English and to know Jesus Christ. 6
Christianity is growing faster in Asia than in any other region of the world. Thank you for sharing God s Word and His peace with people in 11 countries across this continent. You re helping to grow the faith of new believers. bibleleague.org 7
EUROPE I felt peace in my heart Armine finds new life in Jesus Christ thanks to your gift of God s Word At 39 years old, Armine s future was grim. Her husband left their home in western Armenia two years ago to find work in Russia. For six months, money trickled in, but then it was total silence. Tears burned her cheeks each night as she worried about how she would care for her family. Then one day, her children were hungry and she had absolutely nothing to give them. Desperate, she swallowed her pride and walked across her yard to Almast, her Kurdish neighbor, to ask for help. The decision changed her life. A warm welcome Almast welcomed me, says Armine. She listened to me, comforted me, and gave me bread and food for my children. But she was amazed when Almast asked to pray for her, since many in Armenia s minority Kurdish population have Muslim roots. She told me that she s a Christian, that she believes in Jesus Christ as her Savior, says Armine. She told me that He is our hope, and that only He can help us. After we prayed and I left her house, I felt peace in my heart. Every time I saw her, I wanted her to tell me more about Jesus. Your gift of God s Word Almast soon invited Armine and her children to join her and others in Bible study. I was learning so many things about God and Jesus for the first time in my life. It feels like my children and I got a new life. It s a new life you helped make possible because you gave the gift of God s Word. Now I feel peace and joy in my heart, says Armine, who has found work. Yes, I still have hard times, but something inside of me has changed. I have hope in God! I know He s always with me and He helps me. 8
Armine s smile says it all. She s found joy and new life in Jesus Christ because you gave her the gift of God s Word. You ll help to transform the lives of thousands of people in Europe this year when you send your gift today. Thank you! bibleleague.org 9
LATIN AMERICA You help transform lives Because of your generosity, lives are being changed in Latin America Before I knew the Lord, Segundo says, I had no stomach for evangelists I blamed them for ruining my Aucayo community and people. I mocked evangelists and religious people when I was drunk, he adds, and did my best to make their lives miserable. To be honest, my situation was very sad not only for me but also for my family. His life turned around Segundo lives in Sargento Lores of Peru s Amazon delta area a remote and isolated part of Peru. Because of the type of preachers his people knew, Segundo had many excuses to doubt the message of the Gospel. But then it all changed when he became ill and the doctors couldn t help. They couldn t diagnose what was wrong and I was getting worse every day. I was in fear of losing my life, Segundo admits. That s when some of the believers the same ones I mocked before came to my house, shared the Gospel with me, and prayed for me. And that s when I accepted Jesus that very day. My ministry to help others I am well today, Segundo adds with a smile, and I now want many more to know Jesus. So, today he is learning how to share the Gospel and plant a church through Church Planter Training. Now that Bible League International has come to my community, my life is changing even more. I will be planting churches here, and my ministry will be to help others learn of salvation, Segundo says. With your help, in nine Latin American countries where families struggle to get by and many never have the opportunity to believe God s Word lives are being transformed today. I believe that salvation comes first to the home and then it moves into the community, Segundo says. This is how a new church is planted in native communities like mine. This is now my life. 10
Thank you for helping reach people like Segundo in remote and forgotten areas of Latin America. Your gift of God s Word is changing their lives today. bibleleague.org 11
MIDDLE EAST Your gift gives hope New life through Bible-based Literacy Among the millions crowded in poor neighborhoods of the region s largest cities, you will find people like Ati. She is a mother struggling to raise her children and keep her family safe in an area run by street gangs, with little opportunity for employment or education. When she was being raised in this neighborhood, Ati was given little opportunity, and her education was ended after she suffered abuse from a teacher. This turned my life upside down, Ati shares. I stopped school, and I ve hated myself since this. Literacy in the Middle East In this neighborhood with its poverty and violence believers trained and equipped with Biblebased Literacy now offer the opportunity for Ati and dozens of women like her to learn to read and write in Arabic using God s Word. I thank God for this class, Ati volunteers, because it s the only way for me to learn at my age. The class is offered in a nondescript building tucked between others on a narrow street. It is a church, but there is no sign and no symbol like a cross this would attract attention and make it an easy target. But this is where Ati has discovered hope. Discovering hope Literacy is as low as unemployment is high in this neighborhood especially among women. That s why this Bible-based Literacy class is so important. Throughout the Middle East, more than 150 Bible-based Literacy instructors have been trained, and hundreds of people are now learning day by day as they use God s Word. This is my only hope, Ati says. Ati also asks for your help. Please keep me in your prayers. Learning at my age is sometimes difficult, but I must keep reading the Bible. I need to teach my children about the Bible firsthand, she says. In this class and dozens more throughout the Middle East, you are helping adults and children discover hope through God s Word. 12
Your help provides the gift of God s Word to the poorest in the Middle East and it s changing their lives. bibleleague.org 13
U.S. Transforming prison ministry Thanks to your help, God s Word is reaching those in need Winnebago County Correctional Center in Rockford, Illinois, is just that a county prison, with people from the area serving their time until released back into the county to find their way again. Churches nearby have tried for years to reach the inmates, and there are a lot of Bible studies offered, as one long-time ministry worker says, and the results are hours and hours of ministry, year after year, but no results. Here s how that is changing. It s already working The rate of re-offense among inmates wasn t going down, a Rockford pastor notes. They needed a solution, and they re finding one with Project Philip Bible study training for inmates. We need to move ministry inside the prison instead of inmates being served by someone else, we needed to shift the approach from just saving sinners to training leaders as well, he says. So recently there was an intensive training of Philips (prisoners who are believers being trained as Bible study leaders themselves). An inmate named Quincy participated and says, This training is already working. Just five minutes after our training I started a Bible study in my cell block. It s already a thing and God is going to do more here, Quincy adds with a laugh. Finding his way again Another one of those newly trained Philips is Aaron. It s really hard being a Christian in jail, he says. As odd as that may sound, Aaron s story is common. Thank you for showing us that you don t believe we re all just a lost cause. You re showing us how to be accountable, and Project Philip Bible studies will help me reach others. I will use this with my friends and family and when I find a church home when I m released. And it has helped me see what s important being a Christian is about more than just going to church, it s about being and doing the right thing. 14
How We Serve Project Philip Ministry Project Philip Bible studies Church Planter Training Bible-based Literacy Where We Serve Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East U.S. Worldwide Impact Since 1938 You give hope to those who are eager to live a new life when you give them God s Word. Thank you. 3.7 million people trained to share God s Word over 68,000 churches planted over 50 million people reached with the Gospel bibleleague.org 15
Please pray with Maddie Fourth graders at Trinity Christian School in Shorewood, Illinois, recently made a field trip to Bible League International to present gifts totaling $343.20 money they raised for Bibles. Maddie was excited to learn that she was giving God s Word to people who never had a Bible. As she wrote her thank you note, she thought about the impact those Bibles would have on people around the world. That s when Maddie knew she could do more. I will pray for those people, she writes. We need to take a minute and pray. Will you pray with Maddie? Pray that God s Word will reach waiting hearts and empty hands. Thank you! 1 Bible League Plaza Crete, IL 60417 866-825-4636 bibleleague.org info@bibleleague.org