Average American Christian: 9 Bibles; Average Third World Pastor: 0
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Christian Resources International
Sharing the Light of God's Word With the World
Resources Which Pastors Need The Most
Think in terms of the foundational materials that would most help a pastor study and teach God's word
Bibles
Concordances and commentaries
Christian reference books
Systematic and practical theology books
Bible Study materials
Research indicates that the average American Christian owns nine Bibles and is actively in the market for more. That statistic troubles us here at CRI, since we receive more than 400 letters a month from pastors and Christian workers in developing countries whose churches own no Bibles or Christian books.
Resources NOT To Include
Christian magazines
Sunday School materials
Denominational-specific materials
Books in poor shape
Fiction
Help Christians around the world get the books they desperately need
IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION
Sign up using the form below and we'll send you all the information you'll need to send up to 4 pounds of books anywhere in the world for $12.95. Once you have your books ready, just take them to the Post Office with the rest of your mail and get a USPS Priority Mail flat rate envelope. As long as it weighs less than 4 pounds, you can be sure that it will cost $12.95 to send, regardless of the destination country. With the recent increase in mailing rates, this is the best way to send printed material overseas.
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Letters from satified OBYB participants
Dear CRI,
I have enclosed two slips declaring that I have sent two packages to two different people. This worked out wonderfully, as I wanted to send some material to a Pastor/Evangelist, etc. The first book bag however, was for a Sunday School Teacher who needed Bibles. I just happened to have several cases of very nice quality paperback ESV Bibles, so I was able to send her some Bibles. The second book bag was for a Pastor or Evangelist, so I was able to send some of the what I had originally desired to send out. The Lord knows and I am so very appreciative. I want to thank you very much for this opportunity.
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Thank you so much for your quick response. Because the boxes were smaller than we had planned originally, we were able to make five more boxes, so we are in need of five more "Bare Your Bookshelf" packages. We look forward to receiving the addresses and sending these resources on to our brothers and sisters who need them so much. Again, thanks for the work you do and for allowing our churches to be a part of this mission. I pastor two small country churches and both have been so excited about this chance to reach out around the world.
Statistics are not collected on the resources available to the typical Christian church in the developing world, but the extensive first-hand reports we've collected over the past 50 years indicate that the pastor of a typical developing church has access to—at most—one copy of the Bible, often shared with other pastors, and perhaps one or two theological books. Many have less than that; we regularly receive requests for help from pastors who do not have even a New Testament to use in their pastoral work.
The resources that are desperately needed in the developing church already exist, but they are gathering dust on the bookshelves of American Christians. Won't you "bare your bookshelf" and send a Bible (and another Christian book or two) to a pastor who will use them?
With the four pound limit, there isn't much room for much more than a Bible in the envelope, but please do slip in a tract or other Christian book as space allows. Read the suggestions below on the types of books that are most needed—books that most average Christians already have on their shelves, or which can be easily found inexpensively in your local area.
Please Consider an Additional Financial Gift
While your cost for postage is relatively low, CRI does incur considerable expense in finding recipients and coordinating the delivery of materials. If you can make a contribution to offset those expenses, it will allow us to expand this program to its maximum extent, and bring the blessings of the Word to more people around the world.
How important are these books to the pastors who need them? One of CRI's volunteers, Doug Burnie, regularly takes used ambulances and school buses down to Guaymas, Mexico to donate to charities, churches, clinics, schools, and so on. Before each trip, he fills the vehicles with Christian books and Bibles to distribute to Christians in need of spiritual resources. On a
trip early this year, Doug met a pastor who was visiting from a distant Mexican city. Doug was able to bless the pastor with an 11-pound bundle of theological and spiritual works that the pastor could then use to lead his flock. Other than being glad for the chance to help, Doug thought nothing of this interaction until he returned to Guaymas later in the year.
When he got there, he found that the pastor he had blessed previously had heard of Doug's return, and had again undergone the 800-mile journey to Guaymas. Why? To ask if he could have one more book. The pastor had shared the library Doug had given him with six other pastors in his community. Their churches are so poor and have so few resources that the pastoral workers are going without the tools of their craft. These men so need Bibles and Christian books that this minister was willing to trek hundreds of miles just to ask if, perhaps, he could have one more book for his flock.
Fill in the form below, and we will send your envelope to you immediately, so you, in turn, can send the Christian books that will bring tears of joy to someone's face and a lifetime of spiritual enrichment to an entire church full of people.
Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
Your Denomination:
"Bare Your Bookshelf" Sign-up Form
(choose the one that most closely matches yours)
Every day, more than 122,000 people become Christians, and most of those people are in Africa, Asia, and South America. They’re attending churches where even the pastors have no Bibles. In our country, the church isn’t growing so much. But the pile of Bibles on every Christian’s bookshelf sure is.
This discrepancy is why we have launched Operation Bare Your Bookshelf, a project to make it easy for American Christians to send a Bible (and a Christian book or two) overseas.
Special Requests:
The OBYB Europe Campaign is Underway!
Send your Bibles to Europe to reach the world! European cities are home to over 15 million immigrants from around the world, and many retain close relationships with friends and family members in strategic countries. Take advantage of this opportunity to serve this influential region -- request a packet to send materials to missionaries in Europe (just mention it in the "special request" field in the form below).
Just enter your name, address, and denomination in the form below, and then we’ll send you—free—all the mailing materials you need to send a Bible to a specific pastor, Christian worker, church member, or seeker overseas. We’ll send you the recipient's name and address, so you can pray for the recipient by name.
Because the mailing materials bear CRI’s return address, you need not worry that you’ll be personally contacted by anyone overseas. But CRI will personally pass on to you the thank you letters generated by the packages they send. You will be matched to a recipient who is a member of a denomination most similar to yours, ensuring that the material you send will actually be used in the recipient’s church.
