Background

In some parts of the world, the Scriptures are difficult to access or are simply unavailable. In the UK, the Bible is readily available but has lost its significance and its value is unrecognised by millions.

Bible Society works hard here in the UK and in key areas across the world to change this. They take the Bible and find ways to translate and distribute it, create digital formats, advocate for its place in society and help people relate to and make sense of it in their everyday lives.

For over 200 years Bible Society has been working to bring the Bible to life; to help people around the world engage with it, relate to it, and make sense of it.

That single mission drives a huge range of activities. In some parts of the world, bringing the Bible to life focuses on translation and distribution projects. Elsewhere it focuses on leadership training, or literacy programmes, or interfaith dialogue. Closer to home, in England and Wales, it focuses on advocacy effort, schools outreach and devotional resources.

Summary / objectives

For their Christmas appeal in 2017, Bible Society offered supporters the chance to run their own pop-up nativity stories. The organisation provided resources online for supporters to download a script, matching visuals and a video, order booklets and colouring books, all free of charge. Supporters could then go to schools or other locations and perform the timeless tale of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. In turn, they were asked to hold Christmas collections with any gifts going towards helping with practical support and sharing the Bible with refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Scroll down to view the video below to learn more.

Merits

By providing free resources Bible Society made it easy for supporters to stage their own nativity plays. This in turn ensured supporters could raise more donations with limited cost to themselves.

Results

None for this campaign, but in 2018, Bible Society’s Christmas appeal helped provide 600,000 Bibles to Christians in China, who are often marginalised in society. It also helped launch literacy programmes for women in the Central African Republic, a country where two-thirds of the adult population can’t read or write, and provided Bible-based trauma healing for 40,000 refugee children across the Middle East.

Other relevant information

This case study was presented by Carol Akiwumi at I Wish I’d Thought Of That (IWITOT) London 2018.