BIBLE FOR CHILDREN

The first Bible stories are up on the Kobo, Amazon, and Apple bookstores. Google is not accepting new submissions of books, and it is unknown when that may change. There was much more work than we anticipated to set up with these bookstores, and so this will grow slowly. We think it is important to have our Bible stories wherever people are on the Internet. Meanwhile, we continue to slowly add new languages.

Upon re-reading the above, I realize that for many of us, the ‘digital’ world is an unfamiliar place. Yet, even on the newscasts we hear of such things as ‘cyber warfare’ where even national election outcomes can be interfered with by outside forces. And who of us has not noticed that just about everybody in our society walks around holding a phone, tablet, or some other device.

The reality is that to reach this generation of our world’s children, we must do so through all available channels. So, even if you feel a little bewildered about the mechanics of it all, still pray that God will use all means to make Jesus known. It is a fact that Bible For Children reaches around four million children with the Gospel annually. Thank you for your faithfulness in making this possible.

A slice of history

Bible For Children's very first official Annual General Meeting was held on June 10, 2005. This is now a slice of history - from which we can measure with joy how God has faithfully and wonderfully increased the outreach to our world's close to 2 billion children.

The Minutes of that first meeting include the following:
Greg Stetski presented his annual Executive Director’s report orally, giving a brief historical review of the Bible Stories, from the first exposure through Cable TV companies to the introduction to the World Wide Web (the Internet) – and its inclusion in the Online Bible which led to responses and requests from Christian workers in France, Germany, Bulgaria, Indonesia and Arab Christian workers in U.K. These contacts led, in turn, to the (English) stories being translated into six languages, and eventually the eighteen languages now available. In the first four months of 2005, the BFC website had 1.5 million stories viewed. Mr. Stetski also reported that BFC now enjoys Affiliate status with GospelCom, the largest Christian presence on the Internet. The report concluded with expressions of thanks to God and fellow-workers and a plea for continued harmony and unity, that BFC might continue to enjoy God’s blessing.

That was then. Now, 12 years later, the number of languages offered has increased to 134. Of these languages, 84 are among the top 100 languages spoken in the world. The number of downloads has increased to an average of over four million a year. The volume of email feedback from many of these countries has brought encouraging reports of conversions to Jesus; renewed excitement among Christian workers (and converts) in sparsely-populated inaccessible places of service such as tribal people groups; and a robust interest on the part of Christians who have a heart for sharing the Gospel and have caught the vision of reaching the world's children through this world-wide means.

The 60 illustrated Bible Stories (from Genesis to Revelation) are free to all, as are the downloadable colouring sheets for use in Children's Evangelism and Bible teaching. Also, the stories are available on smart-phones and tablets, the hand-held devices that are so much a part of today's scene.

Thank you for being part of God’s great outreach.

Mail from Around the World

Puerto Rico (from French): I salute you in the love of Christ. God bless you much. I'd like you to send me the story of Bartimaeus to make several copies. I have an activity in another church and I would give it to the children to color it. I hope you can help me thanks. God bless you. Elba

Nigeria: Hi, I am delighted to discover your website. I teach children in my local church and I am starting a Christ Centered elementary school in my country, Nigeria. Your resources are very rich and invaluable. My children in both church and school will surely enjoy their Bible lessons better with the visuals. Thanks. Ijeoma

Egypt (from Arabic): My brothers and sisters in Christ Peace of God to you I pray that you send me books and spiritual publications and Jesus make you successful. Habib

Zimbabwe: Good day. Is it okay for me to download the material for local schools so that students can learn the bible. I tried to search the local language available this side, thus Ndebele to no avail. I wanted to know if there is any material in Ndebele. If there is none, I would like to offer any services I can in order to help translate the material to Ndebele. Martina.

DRCongo (from French): Hello. I am a monitor within my church I ask if we could find new Testaments for the children we accompany at Sunday School. Because the Bible tells us < < instructs the child according to the way he must follow and when he is old he will not turn away >> Proverbs 22:6. We take this opportunity we ask you to help us. Matshidi

Heart to Heart

We are thankful for those who have come alongside as we walk through some health issues. The Lord is faithful, even when we don’t understand. We had to delay our banquet to November, but I hope you who live close by will still be able to attend. I always look forward to seeing you and rejoicing together at what God has done in the past year.

As I continue to catch up on the various aspects of Bible For Children ministry, I want to thank you again. Mary-Anne and I really appreciate all of your love and prayers. May you continue in joy and blessing from the Lord as we serve Him together. Greg

Bible for Children
Fall Banquet
Friday, November 17th, 6:30 pm
Faith Church
386 McGregor Street at Mountain

Tickets $10. Children free.

Prayer & Praise

Praise God for Greg’s improving health. Pray for guidance as he recuperates.

Pray for the staff, Board and volunteers who serve the Lord through Bible For Children. There are many opportunities and challenges. Pray that these dear workers will have wisdom, courage and energy to do all that God has purposed through Bible for Children.

Praise God for the 134 languages that are presently posted. Special prayer is requested for the Khmer language spoken in Cambodia—this is one of the 100 most-used languages in the world.

As you read the Mail From Around The World please pray for the people involved and the people group they serve.

Bible for Children has created an App that allows anyone to download our Bible stories to their own tablet or smart phone. All Bible stories in any language can now be downloaded and stored on your own Android or iOS device. There is a small fee of $1.99 US for the App to help recover our costs, but all Bible stories are free.

Please tell others about the BFC App, so they can also enjoy the Bible stories. The App can be found on Google Play, Apple App Store and Amazon.

Just look for this symbol. Thank you for praying .

BIBLE FOR CHILDREN, INC.
PO BOX 3, WINNIPEG, MB R3C 2G1, CANADA

PrayerLink is sent monthly to all prayer supporters.
Editor: E.D. Hughes.