The congregation at St Andrew’s and St Bartholomew’s Churchdown has given a Bible to every home in the parish alongside their Christmas card delivery this year, after a fundraising appeal raised almost twice its original target.
The idea for a Bible giveaway began with a suggestion from a member of a ladies’ home group, who asked whether the church might include a New Testament with the Christmas cards that are distributed to the local community each Christmas.
It was put to the congregation by the Revd John Monaghan, who framed it as an open challenge rather than a fixed target.
“We said that if we raised £500, that gives us a small fund to give Bibles away personally,” John said. “If we raised £1,000, we can do something more focused. And if we raise the full £2,000, we’ll try to reach every home in the parish.”
Within ten days, the congregation had raised almost double the amount needed, also enabling them to set aside a ‘Bible fund’ for anyone in the church who would like to give away one of the Bibles to a friend, guest or neighbour.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting the money to come in that quickly,” John said. “We didn’t put pressure on anyone, we just said, ‘let’s see what happens’. The congregation really rallied together. Most gifts were small but there were also some very generous donations, which made the parish-wide delivery possible.”
Around 2000 ‘seeker friendly’ New Testaments were purchased at £1.28 each. These versions are accessible to people unfamiliar with the Bible, explaining what it is and how to read it.
Members of the congregation then came to church with rucksacks and school bags, collected bundles of cards and Bibles sorted street by street, and delivered them across the parish.
John said: “One of the emails we received from someone in our parish, who does not attend our churches, said ‘I just wanted to say thank you for the copy of the New Testament which came through my letter box which I love. I think this is a marvellous outreach to the community’.
“Surveys have shown that church attendance in the UK has risen by 50% over the past six years, and Bible sales have increased 87% in the last five years. We’re seeing new faces in church and a lot of goodwill from the community. This was a small idea that turned into something much bigger.”
John is inviting churches considering a Bible giveaway in their parish next year to get in touch if they would like to ask questions or learn more about how the initiative was organised. Get in touch with John at hcruh1768608558c.bts1768608558ats@r1768608558aciV1768608558.
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