anonymous (2016), public domain
Bible ownership is a crucial aspect of evangelism and discipleship that we don’t often discuss in the church.
And even though the Bible is available for free in thousands of digital formats, there’s something powerful about a physical copy. It sits as a reminder on our bookshelf or table of the permanence of God’s word.
With this post I’ll explain one strategy to make sure that everyone who visits your church owns a Bible.
Why Give the Bible Away?
The Bible is God’s word. It is the authoritative, perfect source of true information about God, the world, humanity, sin, salvation, love, forgiveness, and eternity. God gives it to us to teach us, to correct us, to train us in righteousness, to encourage us, and to give us hope. There is nothing more important for us to read and study in all the world.
As we urge our friends, Christian and non-Christian alike, to draw near to God, handing out Bibles gives everyone access. We pray and depend on God to work within hearts for conversion and growth in holiness even as we distribute the tool he most often uses for these purposes.
How to Give the Bible Away
The first step—obvious, perhaps—is to buy a bunch of Bibles. Cases of pew Bibles will secure the cheapest price per book. Here’s a link to a case of ESV Pew Bibles, but other translations are easy to find.
The best time to give Bibles away is during the reading of Scripture in the worship service. It’s important that everyone who does this public reading have a similar approach. Before they read the passage, they should invite the congregation to follow along by providing the Scripture reference and the page number in the pew Bible. This is a way to show hospitality for those who aren’t familiar with the Bible.
Now you give the invitation. Try something simple like this.
If you don’t have a Bible of your own, we’d love to give you one. Please feel free to keep the one provided for you where you’re sitting.
Finally, make sure someone checks the worship area after each service and replenishes the Bibles. This way your church is ready for the following week!
How to Pay for these Gifts
Physical Bibles cost money, so if your church would like to begin this practice, you’ll need to come up with the funds. Ideally, this expense would land in the worship or outreach sections of your church’s annual budget.
However, if adding this to the budget isn’t possible, consider asking for a special donation. I’ve found many church members are eager to get behind this sort of initiative.
A People Ablaze
God works powerfully through his word. When we hand out Bibles at church, we’re distributing kindling and lighter fluid. Let’s pray that God would provide the spark to set his people ablaze.
Disclaimer: If you make a purchase through the link above, you will support the work of Knowable Word at no additional charge to you.
