In a recent trip to Serbia, Marco Herrera, Managing Director of American Bible Society’s Mission Global team wrote:

“I visited an Orthodox church where 70 young people from the community meet every week for a time of Bible reading. Christian leaders from the Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical churches facilitate these Bible study groups. These youngsters come from different family, social, economic, and religious background, even non-believers. This effort by the Bible Society is remarkable in this area that has suffered from almost 50 years of atheism under the communist regime of the former Soviet Union, and from a regional war for more than five years that has left many scars in this generation.”

This unified effort by the Bible Society of Serbia and local churches is bringing the comfort and peace found in God’s Word to a generation of young people who desperately need it.

Background and Context

Serbia is one of the poorest nations in the world, which has a significant affect on youth in the nation. In Serbia,

• 800,000 children live at or below the poverty line.
• The youth employment rate is now 49.5%, one of the highest in the world.
• Many young people turn to drugs; Serbia has the second-highest rate of drug abuse among countries in the world.

God’s Word Brings Hope

In order to reverse the trend of hopelessness, stress and fear, Bible Society of Serbia is working to introduce God’s Word to children and youth in churches, summer camps, hospitals, and centers for drug addicts. They host weekly Bible reading groups to help youth discover God’s love in a world full of pain, suffering and confusion.

We give God thanks that many young lives are being impacted by God’s Word, and we ask you to join us in continuing to pray for the following needs:

Pray with us:

• Pray for more Serbian youth to receive and interact with the Bible so that they can come to know God’s love.
• Pray for peace and love as different expressions of the church join hands to help these youth.
• Pray for God to transform communities in Serbia.