Bibles Needed: The Power of Collaboration!

I remember reading once in a book titled "Do Hard Things", that some things are too big to accomplish alone. I think THIS is one of those things!

Our youth group, in which I am one of the leaders, is collecting Bibles for a local ministry that believes the Word of God should be a free gift and knows the people they are trying to reach on the streets more than likely wouldn't step foot in a church where they may get a free Bible. They started getting their Bibles from thrift shops, buying them in bulk through their church and getting them for free from the Salvation Army. Then one of our youth leaders got connected with them and now our youth group is helping to get them Bibles.

Our goal is to collect 500 Bibles by Christmas and we've collected 280 so far. That's good, but I've had the feeling that our youth group alone can't reach our goal. I, myself, donated the extra Bibles I had laying around our house that I wasn't using, bought cheap Bibles at our local thrift stores and used bookstores, and have asked family and friends if they have any extra Bibles to donate. I feel like I've done all I can locally. Yesterday, a pastor in Missouri that came from our church, said he had some Bibles he could send to us. That expanded my vision for who I could ask for Bibles! I contacted Greg and asked if he could help and he said he could and suggested that I post the need here.

I would be SO appreciative if you could help us out! If you have extra Bibles laying around your house not being used, would you consider putting them in the hands of those who don't own a single Bible? Have a Salvation Army near you? Would you consider asking them for free Bibles and mailing them to us? Or maybe this would inspire you to start a similar ministry in your own city! Whatever the case may be, I hope this would be an opportunity for us, as the body of Christ to, "stir up one another to love and good works" (Hebrews 10:24).

We're accepting used or new Bibles in the NKJ version and other versions in the more current English language. This ministry actually prefers Bibles that have your personal highlighted and pen marked notes because they believe the things you have learned can minister to those who will receive your Bibles. We just ask that the used Bibles being donated have binding that's in good condition.

Please send the Bibles to:

ATTN Esco Youth Group
Calvary Chapel of Escondido
1675 Seven Oaks Road
Escondido, CA 92026

Thank you all so much and God bless!

Again, thank you so much Greg! I look forward to receiving the Bibles you will be sending us! =)

Thank you so much Gregg for sending what you have and getting the word out! I REALLY appreciate it! =)

P.S. [laughs] There sure are a lot of Gregs in this world! I'm married to one who spells his name with two gs too!

I will be sending what I can find.....thank you for making this need known....God bless your efforts!

Thank you for sending what Bibles you have! I'm so excited!

Just mailed some yesterday....may the Lord use them to His glory!

Wow - 1,000! Wouldn't that be something? [laughs] I'll admit, my vision wasn't THAT big! I asked our Youth Pastor on Sunday how many Bibles we were up to and he said 288. I thought MAYBE, with all of your help, we would get up to 300. I can't wait to hear what the count will be once your boxes arrive!

I'm planning on going Bible hunting again tomorrow and check our library's used bookstore and the local thrift stores. I've been told that the Salvation Army will give any Bibles they have away for free if you ask them!

I posted this quote yesterday as my Facebook status in relation to what God's been teaching me through this Bible drive:

"We should measure success not just by the goal we're shooting for, but also by how well we work together to get there" {Do Hard Things: The Power of Collaboration}.

It's been SO encouraging to see the fruits of God inspiring me to ask for help and not just try to do this on my own. I know what Alex and Brett Harris meant when they wrote,

"There's something inside a living being that rises to accomplish exponentially greater things when part of a team.

God has made all of us to be more effective when we work in fellowship with others."

God also reminded me, in the midst of all this Bible requesting and hunting, of the effectiveness of prayer. In all my "doing" I hadn't really given much attention to "praying." So I really started praying about this Bible drive last night. Today I planned out my Bible hunting route around town and prayed that God would lead me to the thrift stores that would have Bibles. Well, one caught my attention as I drove by; a thrift store that wasn't amongst the list of ones I found on the Internet beforehand. The sign in the front window, "Christian books," seemed promising. So I checked it out and they had LOTS of Bibles! The prices were a bit higher compared to the other stores I had been to, but when the store owner and I recognized each other from our church, he said he'd give me a good deal on the Bibles! So I ended up purchasing about 12! With the 8 other Bibles I found at two other thrift stores and the free one I got from my brother, I got a total of 21! That was SUCH an exciting answer to my prayers! On the drive home I prayed over the Bibles. It's a great thing finding these Bibles and redistributing them to people who don't own one, especially having collected over 300 now, but it would be a shame for these Bibles to end up sitting on different shelves. So I prayed for divine appointments, for these Bibles to end up in the right hands. Would you pray too?

Since I was already out and about, I decided to drop the Bibles I had found around town off at the church. Well, sitting in the office was the box the pastor in Missouri mailed and it had 8 Bibles in it! That was so exciting and encouraging and there's still your boxes to look forward to!

Look forward to receiving them Greg. Thank you!

Whoever shipped the box of Bibles all the way from Illinois, thank you SO MUCH! Five more Bibles are a blessing! I can imagine that postage is a bit pricey and I've seen for myself how busy the post offices are with Christmas right around the corner, so THANK YOU! And I appreciate that you prayed over each Bible. May God lead each of those Bibles into the right hands and may His Word take affect!

I would highly suggest placing within each of the bibles a testimony from a fellow saint from your body. It would be good for the kids to understand its importance as well as those who will be the recipients of such a mighty and powerful transforming word.

ybiC

That's a GREAT suggestion! I will have to pass that idea along.

You know, God's really been speaking to me about the importance of His Word. I donated the extra Bibles we had sitting around our home, I bought about 25 cheap used Bibles at thrift stores around town and spent all this time getting the word out to people about donating theirs. That would be silly to put so much effort into all that if I wasn't in my OWN Word each day, taking the time to let God use it to transform MY life. Collecting Bibles to put into the hands of those who don't own one is communicating that I think God's Word is important and I need to ALSO communicate that by cherishing my own copy of His Word. So that was another cool thing God taught me through this Bible drive.

I had the same "pricking" from the Holy Spirit as I gathered those I sent....Thank you for sharing this word of testimony. May God be glorified and our efforts multiplied through your vision!

Last night my husband and I and one of the guys from our youth group got to meet the Death Defeaters at an event down in San Diego! I wanted to see what they did in person. It was SUCH a blessing to get to hear their heart behind what they do and listen to testimonies of how they've been able to reach out to the community. As soon as I met Loli she was telling me how when they were at a bar one of the guys there said, "I just can't get away from God," and they were able to give him a Bible. Who knows how many stories they have like that?! It was so cool watching her talk to people who showed an interest in their booth and she was SO faithful to pass out those Bibles!

They were SO appreciative of all the Bibles that have come in! We're their main Bible providers right now. My hope and prayer is to connect them with other churches and ministries that will catch the vision to help out too. I mean, yeah, we've been able to collect more than 350 Bibles for them at this point which, yes, is awesome, but just think about how many more could potentially come in if more of the body of Christ worked together.

I was SO excited to hear our youth pastor tell me that we're going to keep collecting Bibles past Christmas and still go for our 500 Bible goal. I realize that the cost to ship a box of Bibles from where you may be might not be feasible, BUT if you do have the means, or if you happen to be close by, please consider helping us. It really is amazing where and who God is able to reach through this ministry.

Please mail your Bibles to:

ATTN Esco Youth Group
Calvary Chapel of Escondido
1675 Seven Oaks Road
Escondido, CA 92026

Again, for those of you who have helped, thank you SO much!

P.S. lylewise, you had suggested,

"placing within each of the bibles a testimony from a fellow saint from your body. It would be good for the kids to understand its importance as well as those who will be the recipients of such a mighty and powerful transforming word."

Well, to let you know, there were testimonies recorded on CD at the Death Defeaters booth that they were handing out with the Bibles. They gave us one and just the part I got to hear in the car on the drive home was SO inspirational! A part of one of the testimonies was how reading the Bible, on a plane ride, for 6 hours, transformed this guy's life!

It is possible to send the Bibles by "Media Mail" through the US Postal Service, and the cost is not so prohibitive. It takes a bit longer, but if the drive is going to go on past Christmas, this may make it more feasible for some people to help. Also if people feel led to donate, there are online sources such as Amazon, or Christian Book Distributors where you can get more inexpensive Bibles, and then just one shipping charge which usually isn't too bad if you choose the option that takes a few days longer.

Oh wow! Thanks for the tips "mama27." =)

I found a place online that will sell a case (20) of KJV Bibles for $65.
Shipping is FREE.
Look Here:

http://www.inspire4less.com/christian/bibles-by-the-case/gift-award-bible-kjv-white-zondervan-publishing/9780310938842/product-details?pID=134210

You're welcome.....how many Bibles are you up to yet??

I know it's late, but sending a box here in a half-hour...God Bless!

Greg, we received your Bibles! Thank you SO much! I found out at church on Sunday!

"Areadymind," it's NOT late and THANK YOU! Our goal was 500 Bibles by Christmas but our Youth Pastor decided to extend the collection time until we reach our goal. I don't know the EXACT count at this point, but we ARE more than half way to 400 Bibles!

I will try my best to keep you all up to date on how many Bibles you've helped us collect and any praise reports I may have to share. =)

Thanks to all of you who helped out from the Sermon Index community, we have collected over 400 Bibles! Your donations were a blessing and an encouragement! Thank you!