There Is a Bible Crisis in the Global South

Resources to the Global South

What would you do if you couldn’t afford a Bible? Or if you had to pick between feeding your family and buying a copy of God’s Word? You might rely on your pastor to share a copy with you, but what if he didn’t have a Bible either? These are not just hypothetical questions, but a sober reality for believers across the Global South. Missy Camiola, one of Crossway’s ministry partners working in Nigeria, shared the financial hardship that buying a Bible places on an average person there:

In the US, most people have a Bible and you can download it on your phone for free. Most people have access to a Bible, but in Nigeria, even the cheapest Bible is maybe $10. In Naira currency, that’s right now about 18,000. The minimum wage in Nigeria is 25,000 Naira per month. So literally you’d have to give 60% of your month’s salary to buy a Bible. And most of these guys in ministry aren’t even making minimum wage. So they want to get Bibles in the hands of all their people, but they can barely afford one for themselves.

The significant lack of access to Bibles stands in stark contrast to the exponential growth of the Christian population within the Global South. In 1900, almost 460 million Christians lived in the Global North, compared to only 98 million in the Global South. But the trend has shifted: by 2050, the Global South is expected to be home to more than 2.6 billion Christians, with the Global North’s growth seeing a less significant increase to 787 million.¹ There are millions of believers throughout the Global South in need of God’s Word, and if nothing is done, that number may soon expand into the billions.

At Crossway, part of our mission is “To help individual Christians and the church grow in knowledge and understanding of the Christian life.” Yet, this can’t be accomplished without the living, breathing Word of God. This is why Crossway Global Ministry is dedicated to distributing Bibles to fellow brothers and sisters around the world in need of God’s Word—to equip believers and the church with the resources they need to grow in the wisdom of our Lord and share it with others.

Give the Gift of a Bible

Crossway is providing Bibles to believers around the world who are unable to access God’s Word. Would you consider partnering with us in this effort to help a brother or sister in need? Learn More.

Resources in Africa

Dilip Chetty serves as a local pastor in Johannesburg, South Africa where he lives in the reality of an ever-growing evangelical population; they’re also in the midst of a biblical resource crisis. He shared, “So while we are saying, ‘yes, evangelicalism is booming,’ and while we might also say the church is growing in Africa, discipleship is not growing. And the reason discipleship is not growing is because of the lack of Bibles and the lack of resources.” The pervasive scarcity of Bibles severely impedes believers’ spiritual growth in addition to hindering the health of the church.

Yet, the Lord continues to provide for his people, and through his provision and the generosity of donors, we have been able to distribute over one million Bibles to pastors and believers throughout the Global South. While it is essential that all believers have their own copy of God’s Word, ensuring that pastors are equipped for ministry is critical to the flourishing of the global church. Pastor Samuel Bushimbe from Zambia received an ESV Global Study Bible and expressed the meaningful impact it is having on pastors like him:

The Global Study Bible is useful because of the simple English and the meaning of the additional content is impactful. They have helped people, especially we Zambians or Africans, to better understand the Bible—this translation specifically. The ESV is very simple to understand. Instead of using big words, they have used simple words so that every person can understand. And the footnotes are very helpful, including the concordance at the back of the Bible. There are some articles written by African pastors which are really applicable for us.

Pastors across the Global South who now have Bibles, and the included study tools to deepen their understanding, are enabled to better support the needs of their congregations and the church. Yet, as the population of Christians continues to grow, the urgent call for God’s Word persists.

Resources in Asia

While the Global South as a whole is becoming the epicenter for Christians, there are still locations where entire people groups are unaware of the Bible. A study conducted by The British and Foreign Bible Society reported that 56% of people from across several countries within Asia have never heard of the Bible.² Amir³, an Indian ministry partner, has witnessed this complex reality within his country: “India has 1.4 billion people, and about 3% of those people are Christians today. Even though 3% of 1.4 billion is a big number, there is still 97% of India who doesn’t know Christ. And a large part of that population has never received or never had access to the Word of God.”

There is an incredible need for God and his Word in India, and through the support of our generous donor partners, Crossway Global Ministry is helping to meet the need there as well. As one woman who received an ESV Bible shared: “I was very happy when I received my first Bible. I use it regularly to read, and now, after reading my study Bible daily, I can understand Scripture very well. I’m growing spiritually much more in my relationship with God after receiving the Bible.”

India is just one of numerous countries in Asia in considerable need of God’s Word. A pastor from the Philippines, Uziel Idurot, detailed the struggles that people in remote regions of his country face when trying to access God’s Word:

There is a big population outside of the urban area who really not only need to be reached with the gospel but also to receive a copy of the Bible that they could read on their own. Many people in these places are really hard to reach because they’re in the mountains—we have to make an effort to get to them. I long for these people to have access to the gospel and a copy of the Bible.

You can help provide Bibles for believers in places like the Philippines, India, South Africa, or Zambia, who are actively seeking God’s Word but have no way of accessing or affording a Bible. We anticipate that this need will continue to grow as the Christian population in the Global South soars. You can join us as we strive to see fellow Christ followers in countries around the world equipped with God’s Word. A gift of $4 will place a Bible into the hands of one of our brothers or sisters in Christ. We hope you will prayerfully consider partnering with us to make Christ known to the nations.

Please pray for those who have previously received Bibles through past distributions. Pray that the Lord would work in the hearts of those who read his Word.

Please pray for our future distribution projects—that the Bibles would safely make it into the hands of those in need of God’s Word.