“We have the ability to place the Word of God in front of 80 per cent of the Canadian public, on a daily basis,” says Bus Stop Bible Studies president David Harrison. Courtesy of Bus Stop Bible Studies.

Scripture coming to a bus-stop near you

By Craig Macartney and ChristianWeek Senior Correspondent | July 3, 2014

TORONTO, ON—David Harrison sees a strategic opportunity for the Church. Spiritual hunger is growing in the hearts of Canadians, cultivating an environment Harrison believes is ripe for the seeds of God’s word.

As president of Bus Stop Bible Studies, Harrison partners with churches, ministries and individual Christians to put God’s word on public transit advertisements across the country.

“The fact is we have the ability to place the Word of God in front of 80 per cent of the Canadian public, on a daily basis,” he says. “Eighty per cent of Canadians live in metropolitan centres with direct access to public transit. Bus Stop Bible Studies is now in our eighth year with an estimated 2 billion [advertisement] sightings or readings.”

Harrison believes public transit advertisements have a tremendous outreach potential for the Church. But despite the low cost—$69 per panel for five-and-a-half months—and the sponsoring church’s name and contact information being included on the panel, Harrison has been frustrated with the sometimes poor response from churches.

“We simply need committed supporters. We know that the Scripture displayed on Bus Stop Bible Study panels are read hundreds of thousands of times each day, but we have yet to find an effective way to engage pastors and church leaders.”

Tracking results can be difficult, as people may be impacted, but not call the ministry to share their experience. However, Harrison says he has heard of people becoming Christians, suicides being prevented and many women have connected with crisis pregnancy centres as a result of partnerships between the ministries.

Among the responses they have received is one Toronto resident who e-mailed Harrison saying she was struggling after a year of job seeking. She boarded a bus and saw “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding....”

The woman related, “it really put me at ease and I felt so much comfort knowing God’s plan is going to be far greater than mine.”

Bus Stop Bible Studies also recently partnered with the Canadian Bible Society, offering free Bibles in their ads.

“In the past 12-months we have sent out approximately 300 Bibles in 21 different languages. It makes one aware of how desperate people for an encounter with God.”

Harrison says they are simply making God’s Word accessible and leaving the rest to God.

“As we like to say, ‘at just the right time, just the right person will get on just the right bus, sit in front of just the right message, and a life will be changed for all eternity.’”