World Meeting of Families to Share Scripture in Philadelphia

The eighth World Meeting of Families is expected to draw millions of people to Philadelphia in September. American Bible Society will provide Scripture and lead workshops for the gathering, which advocates for the importance of faith in the family. Pope Francis will attend the event from September 25–27, and will say Mass at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Mass is expected to draw between 1.5 and 2 million people.

God’s Word will play a key role in the World Meeting of Families, which has the theme “Love is our mission: The family fully alive.” American Bible Society will publish Scripture Portions in five languages for festival participants, offer a Bible engagement app for youth and lead a workshop about Lectio Divina and the family, which will focus on the prayerful reading of Scripture. In partnership with the Museum of the Bible, American Bible Society will sponsor a major Bible exhibit featuring one of the world’s largest collections of rare biblical texts.

God’s Word for Latino Communities

With a population of more than 50 million, Latinos are affecting many areas of American society, including expressions of the Christian faith. However, only 8 percent of Latinos read the Bible regularly, according to the recent study “Hispanic America: Faith, Values and Priorities,” published by Barna: Hispanics, American Bible Society, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and OneHope. That’s why American Bible Society is working with leaders in the Latino church to teach active Bible engagement. This year American Bible Society hosted its third annual seminar in Houston, Tex., to help Latino leaders understand issues such as financial and ministerial stewardship from a biblical perspective. The seminar was made possible through an invitation from the Church of God’s South Central Hispanic Region. A similar seminar took place in New York City in November. By training leaders to become champions for the Bible, millions of people can experience transformation through engaging with God’s Word.

Bringing God’s Word to New York City

More than 1,500 ministry leaders were challenged to foster active Scripture engagement in their churches, cities and communities at Movement Day, an event American Bible Society hosted in partnership with the New York City Leadership Conference. At the event, President and CEO Roy Peterson and NYC Senior Ministry Mobilizer Enid Almanzar encouraged leaders to partner with American Bible Society to help 100 million people actively engage with God’s Word in the next 10 years. At Movement Day, the team also launched the Now is The Time: Luke series, part of a suite of materials that helps churches and families read, reflect and respond to Scripture together.

To access the Now is the Time: Luke series, visit NowLuke.com.

Make Your Gift Go Farther with AmazonSmile

Now, you can make God’s Word available where it’s needed most when you shop on Amazon. For every purchase made through AmazonSmile, Amazon donates a portion of eligible purchases to a selected charity. To designate American Bible Society as your charity of choice, go to smile.amazon. com and select American Bible Society from the drop down menu. When you’re ready to make your next Amazon purchase through smile.amazon.com, it will automatically contribute a percentage of eligible items. Through this program, you can maximize your financial gifts at no additional cost to you.

Visit Smile.Amazon.com and select American Bible Society to start changing lives today.

Thousands Download Scripture through YouVersion

In 2014, more people then ever were able to experience God’s Word online for free. More than 350,000 downloads of the Good News Translation (GNT) and Contemporary English Version (CEV) of the Bible took place through the YouVersion Bible app. The full GNT was originally released by American Bible Society in 1976 and the CEV was released in 1995. (And these are only two of the nearly 1,000 translations available.) Once the Bible is downloaded to a phone or tablet, it can be accessed at any time—even when internet is not available. YouVersion is just one more way that this work, made possible by faithful financial partners, has continued to bear fruit over time.

Download the YouVersion app to access the Bible on your phone or tablet.