Does a personal Bible make a difference in a Christians life?
​We asked regional church associations that received these Bibles to invite a few pastors and church member to meet us. Below are a few of their comments about the difference a Bible has made in their lives and church.


We have to reach them now. How can we effectively disciple without a Bible? THIS IS URGENT!”​

Rural Ugandans
 
John is 27 years old and a Christian for 5 years.
“When I got my first Bible a few months ago, I had to be taught how to open it and find a passage. This is a predominantly Muslim area. They always ask, “how do you know this about Jesus?” I have credibility now because I can show them in the Bible. None of them have or know the Koran. I am now confident about sharing with a Muslim. I did not know how to preach. But my pastor taught me the basics, and I can preach now.”
 
Mary is 45 years of age.
Mary has been a Christian for 20 years. When I ask her if this is her first Bible, she held it to her chest and beamed,
“Yes! We have a large women’s study group, but few of us have Bibles. Studying the Word without a Bible in your hand is hard. Bibles build our lives. It is a challenge for women in this culture to have a Bible.”
 
Charles is a youth pastor of 80 youths age 15 to 25, and almost none have a Bible.
“We (youth pastors) ask for Bibles, but if we get one for the youth, it is only a New Testament. We want Bibles because it is simple, ‘How can they learn it if only 5 have a Bible and it is a New Testament?’”
 
Paul is a pastor in an impoverished island group off the coast of Uganda on Lake Victoria. 
They are trying to plant churches there.
“Many of us go preaching without Bibles. Without a Bible, we have to answer questions hoping we remember what the Bible says. We received 10 Bibles, and this helps us study and preach. Many are being added now because we have Bibles.  Those getting saved and those who have been saved long ago still need Bibles.”
 
Some of the pastors we talked with made the difficult decision
to give half of their Bibles to a neighboring church(es). Patrick is one of these.
“We got 10 Bibles. I gave 5 to Kenya (just across the border). The need there is so great like ours. We have 5 cell groups which church members lead for those who don’t want to come to church yet. We have 25 study groups which have 15 Bibles. We have 60 members in our church without Bibles.”
 
A pastor working with the Karamoja, which is a tribe still seen by some Ugandans as "inferior" people, says, "There is great need of Bibles among these people. In one church, as an example they had only two Bibles for the whole congregation. This touched my heart."
 
Recently East African Outreach began a Pastor Training Center
in Amolotar, Uganda. It began with 32 Pastors and Church Leaders for a year of study. Of those who registered, they noted that:
“23 Pastors have had no Theological Training. 8 Pastors do not own a Bible. 5 Youth Pastors do not own a Bible. And most of these church leaders/Pastors could not communicate their salvation experience.”
 
Youth Ministries
 
Scripture Union has agreements with 6,160 primary and secondary schools throughout Uganda. They teach the Bible four days a week in each school. The program is popular among all ages and kids want in the program. Dickens is the executive director.
“The Bible is our primary teaching tool. Children love Bible study because the stories of the Bible give them hope when most cannot see a future for themselves. The Bible is full of hope. We teach how to read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to guide them. We give them memory verses each week. But very few have their own Bible. Yet, these 4 to 14-year-olds are forming their values now, and we hope we are helping to instill a thirst for God’s Word. We need over 400,000 Bibles to give each child in our programs each year.”
 
Dr. Julius is maybe the Tim Keller of Uganda.
His ministry trains pastors, their wives, and university students. They disciple students in every university across Uganda. He received 500 Bibles.
“Students do not see the future consequences of their actions. They are creating other gods who are flexible, who will do what they want. We must create in them a hunger for the Bible. They must have a solid foundation for their hope. We hope they ask their hardest questions so we can get beneath the flimsy veneer of their flexible gods.”
 
 Refugees
 
His Voice Global is a ministry
devoted to working with the same refugee children from a young age through university. Mike Elkins began the ministry in Sudan 15 years ago. In 2016, the area they were working in became unsafe, and most of their children fled with them to Uganda and the same children are in refugee camps now with Elkins. Their goal is to provide church leaders for Sudan.
“We need Bibles.  We are training children who walk many miles to our school. If they could buy a Bible, they would sell their shoes to get one.”
 
Edward Dima came to Christ in 1999
and was so compelled by the power of the Gospel that in 1999 he started a church where he lived and the Global Bible Institute which has now trained thousands of pastors from Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. He has been compared to East Africa’s Billy Graham. As he spoke, I tried to keep a running count of church plants he started but soon lost track.  His heart is for the refugees in Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Eriteria, Sudan, Chad, and Central Africa. Uganda alone has over 1.8 million refugees from South Sudan and millions of Sudanese in other refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia.
After talking with him about his specific challenges, I asked, “How can I pray for you, your family and your work?”
Edward declared without hesitation:
“THIS IS URGENT. We are in a fight for the lost. When they are dislocated, they lose hope. The Gospel needs to advance with speed. Their only answer is the Gospel. It is the answer to war, tribalism, violence, a multitude of sins in the camps. Millions are dying without Christ today. We have to reach these people and Muslims. This is the time when they are not connected to the grip of their culture. This is the time to reach the unreached people groups. THE LORD HAS GATHERED THEM IN CAMPS. We have to reach them now. How can we effectively disciple without a Bible? THIS IS URGENT!”​
In 2018, we delivered 10,000 Bibles delivered to those thirsty for God’s Word but could not afford one.
The findings were clear: the deepening of one’s faith comes from a personal, frequent encounter with God’s Word. 
Without a Bible, how would you mature as a Christian?
Would you give today to those who are thirsty for the Word of God in Africa and who cannot afford their own personal Bible?