Each year, Biblica friends like you share the hope of God’s Word with millions of children. But young people aren’t just on the receiving end! We’re proud to have many youth among our dedicated and highly effective supporters—such as the Believers of Christ Club.
When Marianne was 8 years old, she saw people all around her working to help others and thought, “Little kids can do things too.” She talked it over with her mom, and after a year of praying and planning, Marianne founded the Believers of Christ Club with her younger sister Laura and some of their friends. The aim of the club was simple: to use their talents to raise money to send Bibles around the world.
Their first venture was a lemonade stand. Boldly, they placed a sign on the stand announcing why they were selling lemonade. They weren’t sure if it would help or hurt sales, but their community quickly got behind them. Next they turned their attention to handmade crafts. Soon they were a regular feature at local craft fairs, offering doll clothing, ornaments, wreaths, home-baked dog treats, and other goodies. “We make everything by hand,” Marianne explains. “We receive donations of yarn and things. We use Pinterest to get ideas and then tweak it to make it more our own.”
While looking for the best place to donate their earnings, Marianne received a letter from Biblica. She loved the low cost of sending Bibles through Biblica, and the girls realized they could take advantage of matching opportunities to stretch their giving even further.
They set a goal for their first year of sending 20 Bibles. They sent 79!
Since then, nothing has slowed them down, not even a pandemic. When in-person craft fairs shut down, the club went digital, continuing to sell their crafts through a website. So far they’ve raised enough money, combined with matches, to send more than 4,000 Bibles to men, women, and children who urgently need to know God’s love. At 16, Marianne is just as committed as ever and has a new goal: 1 million Bibles! (We think the club will make it, don’t you?)
Marianne and the club hope that by sharing their story, they will encourage other young people to find ways to serve God with their talents and will inspire more people to send Bibles to the world. A big thank-you to the club for their hard work and dedication!
“Anybody can help, and God can use anyone. Because of that, nothing is impossible. And a special thank-you to the people who give the matching grants because those are really encouraging.” —Marianne
