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Narrator: America, the land of opportunity.
America, a nation of abundance.
Ours is a country rich in resources, plentiful in material things, yet ironically, deep in our hearts,
there is a void that cannot be filled. Even though Americans enjoy more freedoms and opportunities
than most people on earth, many are dissatisfied. We want to know the meaning of life. In a
survey of students at 16 colleges and universities, the number one question they asked was "What
is the purpose of human existence?"
Narrator: Hello, my name is Dennis Cooley and I am a volunteer for Bibles for America.
I live in New York City, and I am a student of the Bible. I want to introduce you to a
very special organization—Bibles for America. We are a non-profit organization with a mission
to distribute free Bibles to people all across this great nation. We give away a very precious
commodity for free: The Word of God.
A Christian research group recently found that most households in this country have
an average of three Bibles on their bookshelves. But that is where they remain: on the bookshelves,
and rarely read. Why? Could it be that the best-selling book of all time is also one
of the least understood? Could it be that the Bible is shrouded in mystery in the mind
of the common man? Could it be that what people need is not more Bibles, but a Bible they
can understand? In response to these questions, Bibles for America was formed.
BfA Volunteer: I want to thank you very much. And this card, I'm going to put this card
in here, okay? It's a toll-free number and then there is also a website that family,
friends, or anyone can get one and it'll take approximately 3 weeks before they receive
it. Enjoy your New Testament study Bible. Thank you. God bless.
Recipient: God bless you. I appreciate y'all doing this.
BfA Volunteer: Thank you.
Narrator: It was not until I received a copy of the Recovery Version of the New Testament
that the Bible became easy for me to understand. Many other believers I know have also told
me that after using the Recovery Version their Christian life was revived, uplifted, enriched
and strengthened. What I have here in my hands is not just a good translation of the Bible.
It's a study Bible with footnotes that unlock and interpret the Word of God.
In this program we want to tell you the story of our organization: its mission, programs
and operations. We hope that after you have a chance to get familiar with Bibles for America,
you will do two things: (1) order your free copy of the Recovery Version New Testament today and (2) tell a friend about it.
In May 2000, armed with prayer, faith in God, and a vision of a country filled with understanding
of the Bible, we concentrated our initial effort in Orange County, California. Operations
were based in a one-room office in Irvine staffed by one full-time employee. A logo
and brochures were designed, and a slogan was adopted: "The Recovery Version: A Bible
You Can Understand." We were ready for business. Volunteers went door-to-door to hang brochures
offering the free New Testament Recovery Version, and the requests soon flooded in! People began
calling us or returning postcards to receive a free Bible. Each week, volunteers hand-wrapped
and applied postage to each Bible and delivered bin after bin to the post office. The shipping
process literally operated out of the trunks of cars. To meet the growing demand for Bibles,
we moved into an office suite and added two more full-time staff members. A distribution
center manned entirely by volunteers later opened in Commerce, California to meet all
of the packaging and shipping needs.
News of the organization quickly spread, and more and more readers of the Recovery Version
across the country desired to help spread the Word. By the end of 2000, volunteers from
21 states had been trained and were distributing the free offers. Bibles for America traveled
throughout Southern California to host Bible seminars for new recipients on how to use
the Recovery Version to better understand the Bible.
Exploring other ways to reach people with the gift offer, we acquired a motor home in
December 2000. The vehicle, emblazoned with our logo and contact information, traveled
throughout California, Arizona, and Nevada to distribute brochures in towns along the way.
Though the neighborhood door hanging program yielded an excellent response, we prayed that
the Lord would provide a way to give a wider audience the opportunity to receive a free
Recovery Version New Testament. We looked to the college campuses, where a generation
of young people longed for truth and reality. Only the eternal Word of God could fill that longing deep within.
A test program on nine college campuses was conducted in the spring of 2001. With the
help of Christian clubs, volunteers passed out thousands of brochures offering the free
Recovery Version. The results were astonishing! The high percentage of response indicated
that college students desired to know God's Word. Brochures and other materials specially
designed for use on university campuses were soon developed and the campus program was launched in the fall of 2001.
This is what one college student had to say about his new Recovery Version:
Paul: When I first received the Recovery Version, at first I was excited to receive a free Bible.
And then I began to really dig into it, and to track down some of the references, look
at some of the footnotes, see what was really being presented and I found something that
I really hadn't found presented elsewhere and it really tweaked my hunger and increased
my seeking and my pursuit of the Lord in terms of understanding and seeing more of who He
is as presented in the Word. As one who was already studying the Word, I found the footnotes
especially helpful. But also the cross references, so that I could compare and really understand
the Bible according to the Bible. Not trying to simply take somebody's interpretation of
the Bible, but really see how the Bible is a book as a whole, and how it's meaning can
be derived from different passages within. The Bible is much easier to understand. I
have read a number of other translations and this is actually I would say has the best
tone if you will. It carries with a understandable language, a content and I would even say the
revelation that surpasses just about any other Bible that I have read. So with the help of
the footnotes the translation itself is tremendous.
I would say that my Christian walk and my Christian life is accelerated through the
Recovery Version. Again, it really helped me understand the truth, which then also helped
me enter into more experiences of life, and Christ as life, knowing Christ and who He
is and how He is presented in the Word, what we see of Him and His person and His work.
It was really tremendous in terms of accelerating my growth and my knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
It's easier to understand because you see it in terms of its entirety. The Bible as
seen in context. The Bible is interpreted especially in the footnotes from the Bible
and so you can see from the scope of the whole thing a controlling vision, if you will. You
can see something through every book and it's presented in such a way that you can follow
lines throughout the Bible. And so I would say that the language helps or facilities
tracking those lines.
I encourage everyone I possibly can to get one of these Bibles. I encourage that. I give
the Bibles for America packets to toll booth operators. I give them to students on campus.
I give them to cashers. I give them to people on the street. I hope that anybody and everybody
who has a hunger for the truth, that wants to know the Lord Jesus will get one of these
Bibles and enter into the truth that is presented in them.
Narrator: This confirmed that Americans, especially college students, desired to understand the Word of God.
September 11, 2001. A series of tragic events changed the course of the whole world. Facing
our mortality and threats to national security, Americans questioned the meaning of life and
sought answers to their "Whys." Our sense of security was shaken and people were searching
for something eternal. A nationwide atmosphere of spiritual seeking continued in the months
following, and we sought God's leading for a way to fill this great spiritual void. America
needed the unshakable eternal, Word of God, but how could we respond to this need?
What better way to reach Americans with the Bible than to bring it to their towns and
cities? We used the motorhome to launch an unprecedented cross-country trip from California
to New York City and back to distribute Bibles to those hungry hearts across America.
Volunteers nationwide quickly came forward with offers to travel with the motorhome,
to donate finances, and to extend hospitality to the crew members at each stop. Volunteers
contacted shopping centers and college campuses in their cities to secure venues for Bible
distribution events. The motorhome was loaded with thousands of Bibles, brochures, and gospel
tracts, and on October 17, 2001, left California bound for New York City.
This tour, called Word of Truth USA, yielded results far beyond what the staff had anticipated.
Our internet website, updated with daily reports and photographs from the crew members, attracted
international attention and people all over the world joined in prayer to support the
Bibles for America tour.
On November 9, we reached New York. From midtown Manhattan to Central Park, and all the way
to Ground Zero, the response from the people of New York City demonstrated that Bibles
for America was meeting their need for consolation in this time of great loss. People saw our
motorhome on the street and came to talk to our crew members. They said, "We're so glad
you came here to help," and "Thank you for coming to New York." Time after time, Bible
recipients testified that receiving the Recovery Version was an answer to their prayer.
One woman said the crew's coming to her town was a "divine appointment" arranged by God to meet her.
During the 60-day tour, volunteers distributed over 6,000 Bibles from coast to coast. The
success of the trip proved that people were hungry to read and understand God's Word and
that the Recovery Version filled that hunger.
Many prayed to accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior for the first time, and received
a Bible to continue their Christian walk. For Bibles for America to be able to minister
to Americans at that time of great need was a confirmation that the Lord was answering our prayers.
In 2002, additional motor homes were acquired to facilitate regional Bible distribution
tours. The vehicles made regular trips to college campuses, shopping centers, fairs
and public markets to distribute Bibles. In addition to conducting 5 regional tours that
year, we also distributed Bibles at special events such as the Tournament of Roses Parade
in Pasadena and the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
When the war in Iraq began in 2003, we sought a way to supply the country's military personnel
with free Bibles. Our Military Distribution Program was borne out of a desire to provide
servicemen and women with the spiritual guidance, comfort, and strength that only the Bible
can render. Through this program, Bibles are shipped to military chaplains upon request
for distribution to troops. Whenever possible, our motor homes visit military installations
for personal delivery of Bibles.
While the mobile distribution developed and expanded, we sought a way to reach more American
households with the offer for a free Bible. We explored the possibility of continuing
to spread brochures to households with the help of the United States Postal Service.
We developed a program to mail brochures by the thousands to addresses in any and all
U.S. zip codes.
This mass mailing program was formally launched in spring 2003. We opened a branch office
in Beltsville, Maryland to carry out this program. Within the first year, over 145,000
brochures had been mailed to 37 zip codes. Brochures were being scattered like seeds
throughout America.
By 2005, over 250,000 Recovery Versions had been given away across the country through
the various means of distribution: the door hanging program, mobile distribution with
the use of motor homes, the direct distribution program with display table set-ups, the military
distribution program, and the mass mailing program.
The mission of Bibles for America to freely distribute a study Bible that was easy to
understand had now been fulfilled far beyond what we could ask or think.
Though the Lord's blessing had been with our mass distribution of the Bible for three years,
we felt our work was not complete. The various means of Bible distribution had been successfully
developed, so we turned our attention to helping people to read and understand the Bible they
had received.
Of the hundreds of thousands of people who had received Bibles, a number of them were
eager for additional help in reading and understanding the Bible. Study groups using the Recovery
Version were forming on college campuses, in the workplace, and in homes. People wanted
additional resources for their studies. We considered how to best meet this need.
In the fall of 2004, we expanded our organization to include a department devoted solely to
developing study materials for use with the Recovery Version New Testament.
First, we developed our Christian literature series. This is a free series of books on
the basic elements of the Christian life. These books have rendered untold spiritual
benefit to people worldwide. For the first time, these books would be distributed for
free in the United States by Bibles for America.
We also offer a free booklet entitled "Using the Recovery Version" to help readers gain
the benefit from the features of the Recovery Version, such as the footnotes and cross-references,
to study the major topics of the New Testament. Bible recipients now receive this booklet
with their free Bible.
We are continuing to develop tools for helping people study the Bible. Our educational services
department is developing a website that allows people to customize their Bible reading with
personalized schedules.
Finally, Bibles for America's two-fold mission is complete. We are not only distributing
the Word of God freely, but we have resources to help people understand it. Through the
Recovery Version New Testament and these various resources, our prayer is that people all over
America would be brought to the full knowledge of the truth.
Bibles for America began with a deep feeling in our heart for the people of America. It
was an echo of the desire in God's heart for all men to be saved and to come to the full
knowledge of the truth. After seeing how Bibles for America has distributed free Bibles to
over 250,000 Americans, we want to invite you to get your own free copy of the Recovery
Version New Testament. Call us toll-free at 888-551-0102 or visit our Web site at www.biblesforamerica.org.
You too can participate in this noble mission to distribute New Testaments throughout the
country. We depend on your prayers and support to continue the distribution work. Please
pray that Bibles for America gift offers will reach people who are seeking God and hungry
for His Word. Pray that people will find nourishment in the Recovery Version New Testament.
We also invite you to become a volunteer distributor of the Recovery Version. Simply tell your
friends about the gift offer and encourage them to request a copy for themselves. Please
contact us if you are interested in handing out brochures for the free Recovery Version
of the New Testament.
People often ask if they may contribute to Bibles for America. The answer is yes; Bibles
for America is a non-profit organization supported by the donations of individuals. All donations
are tax-deductible and are acknowledged by a receipt. While we are thankful for every
donation, we want you to be assured that not only the Bible but also all the literature
we send you is free—regardless of whether or not you wish to contribute.
Bibles for America's hope is that many people would find the meaning of their lives and
be brought into God's eternal purpose through reading the Bible. Already, God's Word is
changing lives and bringing people into a closer relationship with God. May this country
be filled with the knowledge of the Truth! God bless America with the Recovery Version!
Narrator: These are just a few responses from people who have received free copies of the
New Testament Recovery Version through our distributions. We now bring you excerpts from
a video Bibles for America produced two months after the tragic events of September 11th 2001.
(Music)
Narrator: I'm Dennis Cooley, and we're here at Union Square in New York City near Ground
Zero. The tragic events of September 11th have wounded a proud and mighty nation. On
that crystal clear fall morning in the span of less than an hour, this country long regarded
by most of it's citizens as invincible, was humbled and shaken and injected with a sense
of vulnerability and mortality that it has not had to deal with for more than half a
century. And so here we are in New York City, two months after 9/11. On the veterans day
weekend searching for the mood of it's people, we asked New Yorkers what they believe the
lasting spiritual impact of the recent events on this nation. We also asked them how they
and their families have been effected in the pursuit of spiritual things. Here's what they have to say:
Girl 1: I did not think that somebody could have some much hate inside
themselves to be able to affect so many people in such a way.
Girl 2: It took such a strong country and something like that just devastated it completely
but now it's brought it so much closer together.
Girl 1: And not just this country, because it was the World Trade Center, everybody else as well.
Man: And so where do we go from here? The words of eternal life. Do we know the Lord
Jesus Christ as our Savior?
Women: Spiritually people are not playing anymore.
Women: Every day's a new day and we don't know what's going to happen. And just have
to live every day and praise the Lord for what we have.
Man: Even though the family has suffered a great loss, but nevertheless there are saying
within their heart that if somebody is saved out of the one tragedy or incident that they would be well pleased.
Man: Spiritually I feel that life is nothing. We should at least love each other.
Women: It's just open the doors for us to remember that this country was founded...
our Founding Fathers were Christians who came over from England to have the freedom of religion.
To be able to express their love of the Lord. We believe that this is going to open doors
for people to know Jesus as their Savior. For people to remember from what we've come
and open their hearts to the Lord, that's the only way we will have any healing through any of this.
Man: It's been a great reminder of just how
short life is and how temporary life is. Billy Graham's daughter was asked why God allowed
this to happen and her response was, "We take God out of schools and government and out
of institutions and we're surprised when such evil takes place". We're in end times and
quite possibly our generation and our kids generation they may not grow up to be old.
Dennis: In the visible realm, the events of September 11th have left the people of this
country with more questions than answers. How long will this war against terrorism continue?
How could God allow such evil and suffering? Can our government really protect us against
further attacks? Just pondering such questions increases the anxiety that we all are trying
to deal with. Yet in the invisible realm there is a peace, that flows from the realization
that though we may not understand all the "whys," we know that God is still on the throne
heading up the entire world situation, holding the globe in His hands. What connects these
two realms? The seen and the unseen, is the Bible, for through it God imparts Himself
as the strength, faith and hope needed to see us through the uncertainty and adversity.
Whatever lies ahead for this country and for the world, we do not know. But this much is
certain, the inward state of America is altered forever. An openness to God and to the Bible
has returned and so has the quest for things spiritual and eternal. Surely this is God's
doing. The Bible, especially an interpreted Bible can alone meet the need of this unique
time. May the Lord continue to awaken the people of this country and turn them to the
Word of God and to prayer. He desires all men to be saved and to fully know the truth.
God bless America with Himself.