Spring 2024
UPDATE
Distributing books for international Christian leaders and theological schools,
and Bibles for those without access to them.
Decade after decade—four in total—Pastor William faithfully shepherded his rural Ugandan congregation. Forty years in ministry is impressive in any country, but unlike church leaders in the U.S., Pastor William never had access to a study Bible—until now.
“Today I received my very first study Bible from PDN [a Christianbook International Outreach ministry partner] after 40 years in ministry and marriage!” he shares with great joy.
In the photo included here, the Bible he’s holding is one that he received through donations from Christianbook International Outreach (CIO), through the generosity of supporters like you.
Bibles are scarce, and, if available, are so expensive that pastors struggle to afford even a basic pew Bible, much less a quality study Bible.
Like Pastor William, Joseph M serves in Uganda. He is an influencer for Jesus Christ among Uganda’s young adults and his following is in the thousands. As a result of his ministry, many are turning from Islam to Christ.
But Joseph didn’t have a Bible with study resources, and he became confused about many aspects of Scripture.
As a Christian leader in Uganda, he was one of the majority of leaders in his region with no theological training—and potentially left to do what many resort to as a result: teach duplicate messages of whatever they watch on Christian television or hear on radio. While the good news is that the church is growing rapidly in this part of the world (and in others), the very real challenge is that pastors are often thrust into leadership with minimal training and equipping.
Mercifully, around this time of confusion for Joseph, a large container of resources from CIO was delivered to our ministry partner in Uganda. Joseph received the exact Bible he needed, and can now spend hours poring over the Scriptures. His questions have been answered—and he feels better equipped to answer the questions of others in their 20s and 30s.
Joseph’s and Pastor William’s testimonies reflect many in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Bibles are scarce, and, if available, are so expensive that pastors struggle to afford even a basic pew Bible, much less a quality study Bible. If these study Bibles (by any chance) were for sale in Uganda, they would cost the equivalent of at least U.S. $100 each. This is a whole month’s rent for a family. Most people could never afford this.
There is no way Joseph and Pastor William could have received their dream Bibles in Uganda if not through the generosity of Christianbook International Outreach partners like you.
Missions experts reveal the number one request from Christian leaders around the world is for help in training their pastors.
- Fact: 60%–70% of Christians live outside the U.S.—this is where the church is growing.
- Fact: 80%–85% of pastors outside the U.S. have no formal theological training.
- Fact: In the U.S., there is one trained pastor per 250 people; outside the U.S., there is one trained pastor per 450,000 people.
- Fact: Most pastors have limited access to Bibles and books for self-study, and/or limited resources for buying Bibles and books if they are available.
Also a Fact: This is a change you can make with your gift of any amount to Christianbook International Outreach! MAKE A DIFFERENCE HERE.
There are countless lives that have been and will be impacted by Pastor William and Joseph M. This is the exponential—and eternal—impact of your support of Christianbook International Outreach.
Your Impact at a Glance:
2024 (so far):
128,525 Resources
17 Countries Served
Total CIO Distributions to Date:
2,155,937 Resources
83 Countries Served
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