Free Bibles help Christians share their faith
“When you step out, something amazing happens”
Winnipeg-MB Ryan Rempel of Give the Word ministries believes evangelism is surprisingly simple; it’s about Bibles and unforced conversations.
For the last year, Rempel has been getting people excited about sharing their faith, by supplying Bibles for congregations and ministries to give away.
Some pastors may wonder how to get their congregation of 300 to share their faith, says Rempel. His solution: he will come to share a message on a Sunday morning, bringing as many Bibles as there are people. Then he will challenge the congregants to give their free Bible away.
“Keep it in your car or purse,” Rempel says, and find someone to give it to. All he asks is that each person share his or her story of what happens next with him and his growing Give the Word team.
“It’s incredible what we are hearing back,” Rempel says. “When you step out something amazing happens.”
Rempel says many tell him, “I’ve been wanting to share my faith for so long, but if I hadn’t been challenged, I would probably still be waiting.”
One person challenged to give a Bible away shared it with a terminally ill friend who wanted nothing to do with God her whole life. At that moment, everything changed.
The person “walked into the room and handed her the Bible, and she bursts into tears,” Rempel says, recounting the submitted testimony. “It was the sign they needed.”
It was the beginning of a rekindling of a relationship with God, and all it took was giving a Bible. Some may ask why Give the Word gives away free Bibles to those who can afford to buy one. Rempel says if they came with a cost, many wouldn’t bother with the extra bit of expense and effort, “it’s just not going to happen.”
Give the Word distributed 10,000 Bibles last year, and is on track to give out 30,000 Bibles in just 15 months since opening. At the same time, Give the Word is responding to the great need for Bibles among ministries and overseas missionaries.
“The greatest obstacle is cost,” Rempel explains, and through its growing network of supporters and donors, Give the Word has been able to meet every request they have received.
Rempel shares the story of a missionary couple in need of 4,000 Bibles. The first donor he contacted was so moved they offered to cover the entire project.
The missionary couple was so overwhelmed they were in tears when they arrived to pick up the thousands of much needed Bibles.
Rempel says it’s been like that since he followed God’s nudge to start Give the Word. Resources continue to line up as needed. The ministry was able to come under the umbrella of Equip Canada (Equipping Christian Workers Society) and also had office and warehouse space miraculously donated. The ministry continues to grow after recently hiring a couple from Steinbach to oversee the expansion into the Southern Manitoba area. Give the Word has also begun to have a presence in B.C.
“It really shows that God is alive and very much at work in our lives,” Rempel says. “Gods resources are limitless and when He wants to get something done, sometimes all He needs to make it happen is someone to say, ‘I’ll go’.”
To learn more about Give the Word visit givetheword.ca.
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