Ps.68: 11 “The Lord gave the word; Great was the company of those who proclaimed it”. Great indeed has been the progress made by the publishing team in translating the word of God into the heart language of Nigerians. Their publishing effort has been complemented by the beautiful feet of the distribution team. Isa.52:7 ”How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns”! It is with great thanksgiving to the Almighty God that we look back on the distribution of the Word of God, since the bible first came to Nigeria in 1842 (and specimen of these bibles can be found at the palaces both at Abeokuta and Badagry). Since then, the word of God has made significant impact in Nigeria stirring up revivals that had led to conversion of millions and establishment of thousands of Churches. As a result Nigeria now has the largest population of professing Christians in Africa, about 60 million Christians.

Since February 1966, when the Bible Society of Nigeria was established, over eighteen (18) million Bibles, and thirty-six (36) million New Testaments/Portions and Selections have been distributed. Definitely God has Nigeria in His plans for the end time harvest of souls. From 2001, God opened an effective distribution doorway for BSN such that our annual distribution activities climbed over the three million mark with Bible distribution accounting for over 900,000 copies of the total. We are aware of the role of the Word of God as carried in Jer.23: 29 ”Is not my word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Also in Ps119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Therefore we are eager to carry the Word to every nook and cranny of Nigeria. As a result of this, we now have seven depots spread all over Nigeria. It is a fact that the greater our distribution figure the higher the number of souls that have the claim of Christ on their lives.

However, our distribution effort is plagued with challenges arising from the vast expanse of land and cultural beliefs that involve moving scriptures over rough roads and outright dangerous territories. Also, the poor purchasing power of the average Nigerian poses a great challenge to distribution as we strive to keep our catalogue price stable in the face of rising inflation. Since 2001, the prices of all our local languages Bibles (about 15 in all) have remained unchanged even though the local currency has depreciated by 62%. Why are we doing this? Is it because we are not business minded or is it because we are kingdom conscious? I suppose the latter. As a result of price stability and constant availability of scriptures, our vernacular Bible distribution has taken a huge leap forward. For example, in year 2000, eighty-five thousand (85,000) Yoruba Bibles were distributed but in 2003, total distribution of Yoruba Bibles was two hundred and seventy four thousand (274,000) copies. The same applies to the other Bibles, such as Hausa, Igbo and Efik. No doubt, this had helped evangelism and discipleship in the churches and brought about the proper grounding in the Word of God.

Our role in distribution as we look to the future is to see how to make our scripture even more affordable (cheaper prices) to Nigerians. We will spear nothing in reaching Nigerians with the word of God. We pray that God will empower us to do so. Therefore, we covet your prayers that this effectual door will remain open to us and greater opportunities will be given to us to serve Nigerians and the people of West Africa. We also covet your financial support to sustain the procurement and maintenance of facilities like distribution vehicles, and the sighting of new depots closer to the people to facilitate our distribution work. May I therefore invite you to share in this exciting work of God. Isaiah 6:8. Also I heard the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and also who will go for us?” Can God rely on you to go? May God bless you as you obey. Amen.

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