Bible Society Magazine – Winter 2020

Helping put hope in everyone’s hands.

A message from our CEO

We are certainly in an unusual time right now, a time actually named by the author: “a time to refrain from embracing.” (Ecclesiastes 3:5)

It is also a time for thinking differently, as we seek to connect with staff, our donors, our partners and our customers. This current edition of the Bible Society Magazine is a result of that thinking - a combined publication of Sower, Eternity News and Koorong catalogue.

In this season we are also praying for you, Bible Society’s donors and supporters, the lifeblood of this organisation. We pray for our partners both in Australia and overseas.

Thank you for your prayers for Bible Society at this time and I would ask that you would especially pray that, in partnership with our donors and supporters, we can pursue our vision to Open The Bible to all people everywhere by all means possible.

Grant Thomson

CEO, Bible Society Australia

Grant Thompson

Helping put hope in everyone's hands.

Coronavirus has changed the world. Well not entirely. Just as our world needed hope before COVID-19 had such a devastating impact, it still needs hope. Meaningful, lasting, trustworthy hope.

The sort of hope that people everywhere have been able to find through Opening The Bible. Hope that you have helped to provide to people like a 65-year-old grandmother in China who used to think life was all about smoking, dancing and playing mah-jong.

A few years ago, Yuan Guiying was shaken when tragedy struck her family. Her son-in-law had a serious car accident and was fighting for his life in hospital. Yuan’s daughter remembered her friend sharing with her the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who came to heal and to save.

In her desperation, Yuan’s daughter prayed,

“Dear Jesus Christ, please heal my husband and I’ll believe in you.”

Winter2020_pray

Miraculously, her husband began to recover quickly and she was convinced her prayers had been answered. She put her faith in Christ and persuaded her mother, Yuan, to do so. Instead of going for mah-jong parties during her free time, Yuan started to attend church and pursue the hope found in Jesus.

Yuan will never forget the day she held her first Bible, shortly after her baptism. Her local church gave out free Bibles, funded by Bible Society donors like you.

“I was a little overwhelmed when I held it in my hands, thinking to myself that this is no ordinary book; it is the word of God!” remembers Yuan about receiving her own copy of the Bible.

Bible

Thanks to generous Australian supporters, Bible Society Australia has helped people like Yuan to Open The Bible all over the world. Even though the coronavirus threat has changed so much about how we live, work and relate, important and vital things remain the same.

Such as Bible Society’s commitment to the big vision it set before COVID-19 swept our world: to Open The Bible to all people everywhere by all means possible.

Will you help to Open The Bible to all people everywhere?

Will you help Open The Bible to all people everywhere by all means possible? Now more than ever, we all need a message of hope. But it can't happen without you. Your tax-deductible gift today will help bring God's message of hope to a world in crisis.

Read more in the Winter edition of Bible Society Magazine

Read more in the Winter edition of the Bible Society Magazine.

About Us

Established in Sydney in 1817, Bible Society Australia’s activities take place as part of the United Bible Societies who operate across 200 countries and territories.

We are one of the most extensive mission groups in the world and do our work in partnership with churches, providing resources and Bible-focused campaigns and community programs.