Biblica is a global bible ministry, Releasing the world’s most widely read Scriptures for maximum gospel impact.
Now in its third century of mission, Biblica continues to produce relevant and reliable scripture translations and innovative resources that power the bible Ministry of hundreds of global mission Organizations and invite millions to Discover the love of Jesus Christ.
Dear Friend,
Simply stated, 2021 was a stunning testimony to God’s faithfulness. Around blind corners and over unforeseen obstacles, God’s mission through Biblica astounded us.
And before going any further, let me say thank you—to you, our incredible community of partners, global field partners, and staff family. Thank you for your generosity in bringing this mission to life. Because of you, the eternal hope found in the Bible reached the lonely, the desperate, and the lost.
The result was more people reached with God’s Word than ever before in Biblica’s 213-year history.
This happened because instead of fear, you chose faith to persevere, courage to explore, and generosity so that the next person could receive the saving hope of God’s Word.
Despite the disruptions of a global pandemic, you invested in 49 Gateway Translation projects, including the launch of six much-needed Bibles. In the face of worldly divisions, you encouraged the unity of our illumiNations alliance for global Bible
translation partnership.
You ran towards Bible ministry, choosing to serve Rising Generations in many of the world’s hardest places. Because of this, our flagship teen Scripture program, Reach4Life, was published in 15 new languages and grew in digital access. And then God’s Word went further still, serving first believers within the Frontline Church, delivering new Bible technology for those with limited or no digital access of God’s Word.
Taken all together, we saw God’s Word reach new places and people—resulting in a 53 percent increase in Scripture reach from just one year ago.
It was more than we planned or even hoped. God determined that His Word would not be stopped—all on behalf of so many He so dearly loves.
I hope you enjoy the pages that follow because, dear friends of Biblica, this is your story wrapped in the bigger story of the God who accomplishes more than we could ever ask or imagine.
Yours Gratefully,
Geof Morin,
President / CEO
God is strengthening the church, and it is through powerful ministry partnerships in North and South America that millions have been given access to the Bible in their language.
Through online instruction, thousands of church leaders received training and over 1.5 million Bible resources to equip them in their ministry efforts. Over 100,000 kids were given their very first Bible—The Treasure Hunt Bible—in Spanish and Portuguese.
God is strengthening the church, and it is through powerful ministry partnerships in North and South America that millions have been given access to the Bible in their language.
Through online instruction, thousands of church leaders received training and over 1.5 million Bible resources to equip them in their ministry efforts. Over 100,000 kids were given their very first Bible—The Treasure Hunt Bible—in Spanish and Portuguese.
With in-person programs hindered by the pandemic, God instead took His Word through audio and digital pathways
throughout Africa in 2021.
Over 2.6 million people listened to the devotional “When Your Whole World Changes,” broadcasted in Portuguese by TransWorld Radio in Mozambique. Another 2.6 million youth accessed the transformative Reach4Life program via online, radio, in person, or the app.
Over 14 million people throughout the Middle East engaged with our Arabic Bible and other resources on Ketaby.net. Through social media and digital resources, people in restricted countries listened to, read, and engaged with God’s Word safely.
Across Europe and Central Asia, over
75,000 Bibles were shared with refugees in 2021. In Central Asia, young people downloaded the new Reach4Life app in Russian, while over 2.2 million people of all ages read the Russian Bible online.
Despite opposition to Gospel work in many of the limited access nations in this region, our partners are seeing people saved, baptized, and committing to local communities of believers.
Digital and mobile access to the Bible continued to grow. In China, over 14 million people read the Chinese Contemporary Bible online through the WeDevote app.
God’s radical generosity has allowed us to remain committed to freely releasing our Bible translations for global ministry outreach.
By His grace, in 2021 we launched six full Bibles into the world—Ewe and Akuapem Twi in Ghana, Igbo in Nigeria, Lingala in DRC, Luo in Kenya, and Malayalam in India—and had 49 translation projects in process—more than we have ever done before.
As we trust God to finish the “last mile” of translating the 100 gateway languages, we also began catalyzing the “first mile” of 500 minority languages in the world’s hardest places. Our work on major languages, and the start of our work on minority languages, is propelling the work of our partners to ensure that by 2033, 100 percent of the world’s population has access to God’s Word in the language that speaks to their heart.
Agbeko was 24 years old when he watched as his pastor read from a worn, leatherbound Bible to a family in a small village just outside of Dambai, Ghana. When the pastor had finished, he began to explain to them what he had just read.
Shortly after his pastor had finished his teaching, a confused Agbeko asked, “Why did you have to explain what you had just read?” His pastor told the young man that it was because his Bible was written in a different dialect than what the family could understand, so it required further explanation.
God knows our dreams.
Since that day and for the next several years, Agbeko dreamed of a translated Bible for the millions of Ghanaians who spoke only Ewe. And in many Ewe-speaking regions, the literacy rates are comparatively low. Agbeko knew that only a God as big as his could provide the Bible not only in print, but for others to listen to as well.
Agbeko will tell you his dream came true on July 9, 2021.
On that day, the now Rev. Dr. BKD Agbeko was given the opportunity to chair the launch of the first-ever printed and audio versions of the Bible in the Ewe translation. Today, over 5.5 million Ewe speakers have God’s Word in the language they think, pray, and dream in.
God answers our prayers.
“I was so thankful to chair such a wonderful function,” said Agbeko. “Now our people will need little help in understanding the words of the Bible.”
God pursues His children and shines His light in the darkest places. He is reaching young people facing challenges particular to their generation—school shootings, cyber bullying, and gender identity issues.
Because of His heart for the young, in 2021 we saw an exponential increase in our reach to this generation through 11 new languages of Reach4Life including new technology like the Reach4Life app in English and Russian, and a new video project in partnership with Shook that addresses some of the most pressing needs of this generation. God is reaching the Rising Generations with His life-saving and life-giving Word.
Many Venezuelans today are fleeing their homeland.
Political chaos.
Food scarcity.
Compromised shelter.
Total abandonment.
They see no other choice than to run, leaving behind children and the vulnerable.
And those left behind are often left to fend for themselves. With no food or shelter, many are tempted by drugs and the false community that gangs provide.
But God is greater. He is making a way where there seems no way at all. Carried through thick rainforests and treacherous rivers, and past armed gangs and guards, the Bible is making its way to those who need it the most because of local leaders like Jesus and Pastor Daniel.
Both have seen the desperate need in their youth and have brought millions of Bibles into the country.
“In my youth group there was a young man who was abused,” said Jesus. “Reach4Life was a huge gift because it opened the door for me to bless him. He took the book as a daily devotional and now preaches the Word to other young people. I never thought I’d be a part of a miracle like this.”
Being led by God, the two leaders have a strong conviction that as the young people in Venezuela lead the way toward Christ, they will spark a national revival.
“They are children who listen to the voice of God,” said Jesus. “Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they will transform our entire nation.”
God is near to the broken-hearted and He is using the Frontline Church—made up of churches and ministries pursuing those on the edges of society—to mend hearts, proclaim freedom, and find joy in the midst of tragedy.
As churches and ministries seek to serve those who are often forgotten—the refugee, the prisoner, the persecuted—God continues to open doors for us to partner with them to provide Bibles and Scripture resources to help those who desperately need God’s Word. In 2021, our goal was to reach 82.5 million with the life-saving Word of God, but thanks to our God, you, and our partners, we were able to reach 121 million people—47 percent more than our goal.
Raised in a traditional Muslim home and skilled in memorizing the Koran, Salim* was sent to a terrorist training camp disguised as an Islamic boarding school in east Africa. There, he was taught a language of hate and death and indoctrinated to believe that Christianity needed to be obliterated by any means necessary.
But God’s Word will not return void.
As part of Salim’s training, he had to read the Bible to better understand Christianity and the beliefs of its followers. Blindsided by the true love of God, he was moved to tears. Something pricked his heart. But when Salim’s roommate saw his emotional response to the Word, he reported him to the leaders. Salim was beaten, thrown in a tin shack, and left in the desert heat—his skin blistering in the sun.
In the cover of night, Salim escaped the training school but couldn’t break free of his old ways. He continued training radicals and burning down churches—all while still reading his Bible.
But God pursues each of His children.
After two years, Salim surrendered to the love that relentlessly pursued him and his life has been forever changed. He enrolled in the Equipping Leaders program, and received the very first study Bible in Amharic. Today, Salim trains up indigenous missionaries, disciples 47 sheiks across the Middle East, and meets regularly with
75 women who have been called to evangelize their community.
“God’s Word is living, I have seen its power in my own life.
I want to see it alive everywhere!” exclaimed Salim.
*Name changed for security
Using all things for the good of those He has called, God used the global pandemic to catalyze a massive shift toward digital Bible reading. Knowing this shift is not a trend, but rather the modern way of access and engagement, we set out to reach more people than ever before through our digital efforts in 2021.
God continued to bless our strategic partnerships with YouVersion and Bible Gateway, reaching 226 million people, who encountered His Word digitally over 16.5 billion times. We also developed the app Airscape to reach the “silent billion” of basic feature phones users, as well as the Reach4Life app specifically for the Rising Generations. What the enemy intended for evil, God is using for the greatest good.
In the parts of the world where persecution is a way of life, God is near.
In the parts of the world where there is little to no access to the Bible, God is near.
In the parts of the world where cellular data is not available to the average person, God is near.
In 2021, the Airscape mobile phone app was launched in Arabic with the hope of reaching the persecuted and those with limited data in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region of the world. This Bible app requires significantly less data than traditional online platforms, and is encrypted in such a way that it cannot be traced by authorities in restrictive countries.
God took our meager goal to reach 50,000 people in 10 countries and made sure that thousands more of those He loves so dearly would hear or read His love letter to them. In one short month 175,000 people in more than 40 countries had downloaded the app.
For the first time ever, members of house churches who could not read could hear the Word in the language they think and dream in. God is near.
Our miracle-working God made a way for those who are persecuted and poor to hear from Him.
“To see the faces of our people light up as we played the Scriptures for their ears felt like a holy moment,” said one house church leader. “Our people cannot stop sharing the Gospel with friends and family all around the world through this amazing app. Thank you, God!”
Just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes for the 5,000, God continues to break down barriers and multiply access to His Word.
When God brings together 11 Bible translation ministries to eradicate Bible poverty, get ready for miracles to happen.
In a collective effort to eliminate Bible poverty by the year 2033, the illumiNations movement is working to not just speed up the delivery of first translations, but to change the way the world looks at Bible translation.
By working together, God has harnessed the power of like-minded partner agencies, groundbreaking technology, and generous investors to accelerate translation projects all around the globe.
In 2021, this came to life as the illumiNations 12 Verse Challenge. Through a dynamic event-driven and digital campaign, thousands of people were invited to join the Bible translation movement. Sponsoring one verse a month for a year, over 10,000 people committed to joining us in the 12VC journey.
We had the privilege of bringing coordination to this initiative and joined with a great group of champions, speakers, and artists such as Jennie Allen and the IF: Gathering, Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes, and We the Kingdom. As we prayed, thousands of people leaned in to join us, and God moved.
Engagement in the United States was just the beginning. With support from Biblica, regional translation agencies and investors were joined by pastors Rick Warren, Alistair Begg, and Francis Chan, and global worship leaders Keith and Kristyn Getty, to raise awareness for the Bibleless through the first-ever virtual illumiNations event in Europe. And while COVID curtailed a physical connection, God generously provided $4 million in new Bible translation resources through this inaugural effort.
Together, this year we have so much to celebrate for the cause of Bible translation. It is God’s generosity through and through, seeing His Gospel going forward to all the world.
Eternal.
Everlasting.
Life-changing and life-saving.
These are all descriptions of God’s Word.
Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (NIV).
Devin and Vanessa Burnett have experienced this firsthand as their lives have been impacted and their hearts forever changed by the truth of God’s Word. Now, the same is happening to those who have access to the Word through their faithful partnership with Biblica.
“Jesus placed a high value on the Word of God. He told us that we must love the truth, or else we will get carried away by delusion.
How can we love the truth without having access to it?” Vanessa said. Knowing what a treasure it is to experience God through access to the Bible, their hearts are eager to get this life-saving Word into the hands of every man, woman, boy, and girl throughout the world.
God gave the Burnetts the experience of growing up abroad and living all over the world both individually and as a couple. This experience grew a deep love for the nations in both of them. A prayer of their hearts is to see the Gospel reach the ends of the earth. As a result, they have begun supporting translating the Word into Farsi and investing in Airscape (see story here).
“We have been very interested in the creative means in which Biblica is getting the Word into the hands of people,” Devin said.
Through their involvement with Biblica, they have also learned about and invested in illumiNations, which has served to broaden their scope of awareness and influence in the world of Bible translation. Devin and Vanessa are committed to investing in
innovative pathways that give access to the Word to those who need it in the language in which they think and dream.
We are grateful for the way God has brought the Burnetts and their passion for the Word of God to this community!
Translation
3.5M
14%
Innovation
5.0M
20%
Mobilization
7.0M
28%
Equipping
5.0M
20%
No Data Found