As I work my way across different cultures each day on IBG projects, I find it curious how we can all view similar things much differently.  Not wrong, per se, just differently.  I’ve written recently on how we view comfort and safety differently in the west than the majority church, and some dangers to guard against in our western worldview.  Another curiosity is the “Missions Committee”.

The “hard” places that IBG ministers in around the world are “home” to the people we seek to minister to. It’s their place in this broken world, and while there are places of beauty, these areas often harbor some of the harshest conditions you will find, including injustice. One aspect of brokenness that may be foreign to you as you go to the ends of the earth is the existence of formal and informal anti-conversion laws.

There are many Bible giving organizations besides IBG including a handful of large ones like the Bible Societies, Gideon’s International and the Bible League of Canada. But I am aware of dozens of small and very small Bible giving ministries across the United States. Until recently, IBG would have easily fit in the middle of that small group, but God is leading us through rapid growth by acting on fresh vision to help end Bible scarcity in the world.

Each Bible giving organization has its own unique values and culture, and God uses each ministry in different ways.

The western church lives in a bubble that the global church does not experience. We live comfortable lives in relative physical safety. We may endure a little hate speech at times, but the hate we experience rarely goes to the level of physical violence. Not so with most of the global church. Many Christians live and worship as minorities in cultures that are openly hostile to them, their worship and their world view.

The Bible is full of marvelous examples of God moving for the sake of his people, and yet we are remarkably resistant to the idea that God would move on our behalf. 

For years, demographers and Christian commentators and podcasters have lamented the demise of the American church, postulating that the church was “going the way of the European church”.  And for years, I have disagreed with them, though the statistics have reinforced their narrative.

Welcome to 2026, Bible Givers!  The past 3 weeks have been filled with preparatory work: a new IBG Website in the making, a new fund-raising campaign to grow the ministry, and implementing our plan to double the Bibles we give out again this year.  Before getting into all of that, I started with this simple reflection: why do we do this Bible-giving thing?

Welcome to the Christmas season Bible givers!  Our world continues to be an angry, unhappy place that is at war with itself.  I’ve talked to several who need to navigate broken relationships and difficult situations this season. Please take the time this season to celebrate the greatest gift the world can ever experience.