Welcome to 2026, Bible Givers! The past 3 weeks have been filled with preparatory work: a new IBG Website in the making, a new fund-raising campaign to grow the ministry, and implementing our plan to double the Bibles we give out again this year. Before getting into all of that, I started with this simple reflection: why do we do this Bible-giving thing?

We do this for multiple reasons. First, right out of Matthew 28 or Acts 1:8, Jesus calls us to bring the Hope of the Gospel to every People Group. That alone is enough. But in my personhood, I desire to see other people flourish. That means living in the light, with not just the hope of Jesus Christ but also the freedom we have in Christ to live our life to the fullest. I am so grateful to be able to witness transformation in the lives of people who accept Christ! Really, no one should face eternity without the knowledge and worship of our Creator God.

Over Christmas, I read “The Insanity of God” by Nik Ripken. Odd title but worth reading. Nik and his family serve the persecuted church in some of the hardest places in the world where life is cheap and Christians are hunted down. The level of hate in some of these places is truly insane. Imagine directing a meager food distribution in war-torn Somalia, knowing that the villages selected will live one more day, yet people will die in the villages you don’t choose. Imagine praying with 4 believers (a rarity) in Somalia, only to have them hunted down later and murdered. It drove Nik to ask God if good could truly overcome evil. In response, God sent him on a journey to see the power of Gospel transformation across the persecuted church.

We too easily forget the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. We don’t often acknowledge how Jesus is today actively calling thousands from the bondage of Islam, Hinduism, animism and Buddhism to himself. We don’t always see the absolute power of the Word of God to transform. But it is right in front of us. Early this week, we distributed Bibles in a very inhospitable place in Pakistan. It was dangerous enough that there were guards up on the walls of the gathering place watching for danger. But the believers came to hear the Word of God proclaimed and receive a Bible. Some of their neighbors came and received a Bible and seeds were planted. Right in the face of danger. You accomplished that by supporting IBG.

This year, we intend to invite many, many more supporters into IBG, because our work to end Bible Scarcity must grow. We prayed for connections to Gospel proclaiming local ministries where the Gospel wasn’t and God provided. God gave us some of the best church-planting movements He had to give! We have an extraordinary opportunity in front of us to end Bible scarcity and unleash the power of the Gospel where Jesus is unknown. One of our ministry partners reached out to me this week to gently inform me that due to growth, they really needed to double the estimate of Bibles they would need for the next few years. Can you imagine? Can you see it?

I do not know how God is going to meet these enormous needs, but it starts with prayer. I have prayerfully committed to work to double our ministry capacity to give Bibles this year. If God wants it done, he will provide a way. Join me in prayer and join me in sacrificial giving that many starting 2026 in darkness with spend eternity in the light..

Give Hope! Give Life! Give Bibles!

Chuck Hayes