In the early 1800s, it was common for a new organization to prepare an address to the public explaining its mission. The address announcing the formation of American Bible Society was drafted by the Rev. Dr. John Mitchell Mason, a minister of the Associate Reformed Church and provost of Columbia College. It was approved and adopted by the delegates at the founding convention on May 11, 1816. Two days later it was read in public at New York’s City Hall. The following is a shortened adaptation of that address in the language of 2016. We hope this paraphrase into contemporary language will help you experience the excitement of that founding generation. May it inspire us all to a fresh appreciation of the value of the Scriptures for individuals and communities.

A new thing from God

If there is one thing that all Americans have in common today, it is the sense that change is coming. We can’t see it yet, but we can feel it straining against our systems of governance, culture, and belief. Yet we who follow Christ are not anxious about it because we know that this groundswell of change has a source: the will of a loving God whose every move is good—like a surgeon whose first healing move is a sharp and decisive cut.

But what is that new thing in our day? It is a spiritual awakening that is rousing the nations. The Spirit of God is at work to unify “every nation and tribe and people and language” to spread the knowledge of the one living and true God, as revealed in his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This awakening, this work of the Spirit, goes completely against the ethos of our day, which doesn’t worship the glory and power and wisdom of God, but of people. This so-called modern philosophy, falsely associated with reason, is presented as the truest and most acceptable way of thinking and living. But we can see this idolatry for what it is—a tragic and disastrous lie.

And so we cheer this new awakening to the knowledge of God. It is only when we know Jesus and abide in him that we may truly become like him. And we become like Jesus when we join others in their pain and point them to God as the source of all healing and hope. We become like him when we courageously denounce all that spreads darkness, disaster, and death. We become like him when we serve tirelessly alongside the scorned and the oppressed, radiating the life and love of God as we do our part in this, the Age of the Bible.

Laboring together

But we do not labor alone. We are inspired and strengthened by a global movement of national Bible Societies that is already underway. And God has created this American Bible Society to set such a high standard of Christian unity and partnership that even we shall be astonished by what his Word is able to accomplish. May this holy experiment in Christian unity embolden and encourage every Gospel effort on the face of the earth.

Let us not be tempted to focus on all that separates us but on that which unites us—that which overcomes all objections and inspires us to action: the mission of providing and promoting the Bible. In so doing, we threaten the powers of this dark world. We promote peace on earth and good will to all; we provide the antidote to the world’s misery and grief; we radiate the light of knowledge, even as we learn together from God and each other; we deliver the healing balm of joy to anguished souls, even as our own anguish is overcome. The impact of our obedient and unified effort will speak to the mind an argument that cannot be overcome by human wisdom, and will speak to the heart a sentiment that its holiest emotions will rise up to applaud.

With that clear vision of unity, with that unshakable sense of urgency, and with that deep passion for the Word of God, the spiritual foundation of American Bible Society has been laid. As an international and interconfessional organization, we must not let regional differences, political prejudices, and sectarian resentments deter our mission. American Bible Society and its partners are linked together in every place and time by that singular mission that calls forth the very best in us, and overcomes the worst: disseminating the Word of God to every person on the planet so that everyone might be transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.