“What kind of IMPACT will we see if we donation to Scriptures in Use?” You may be thinking something like this as you consider where to make your year-end giving. We hear this question quite often as we raise funds to equip indigenous leaders through SIU Bridges training events in Africa, Asia, and around the world. “What IMPACT will my gift have?” When I answer this question, I often tell people that they will not find a better return on ministry (ROI for the business-oriented types) than SIU. I’ve been in the international missions/ministry environment for over 23 years. Let me explain why I say this.

Windows open, doors open…some might stay open for a short time, and then “wham” suddenly they close. We see the same with harvest opportunities in the field. We are currently seeing many new training opportunities among unreached people groups through our existing partners. Some of these opportunities are a result of new translations of our “Bridges” equipping and training curriculum, including Arabic. Our existing partners in Africa and other regions are using creative approaches to expand access to the “Bridges” training and are equipping believers to go into new areas and countries, making strategic use of their local proximity and established connections. Using these new translations of the “Bridges” training material is just one way we have been able to increase access to this training model.

During a recent weekend clean-up of my home library, I discovered a true “treasure box”. It is one of those redwood boxes about eight inches long and six inches wide that usually carries that redwood scent we find when you open one in a gift store. That scent is long gone. However, within that redwood box, I found several interesting things that are now immeasurably valuable to me. In it was an envelope with a letter from my Grandfather Eugene, who was a member of Gideon’s International. Also, it contained an original Gideon’s Bible that used to be put in Hotel’s rooms a few decades ago and a newspaper article from the early 1970s charting the course of the Gideons. Then something truly took my breath away…

We are thanking and praising God for another incredible year of ministry in 2023! We want to thank each of you, our family of faithful supporters, for praying and financially partnering with us as we see the Great Commission being fulfilled among oral culture communities around the world. Our trusted partners across Asia and Africa reported more than 5,600 new churches planted in 2023. This brings our 26 year cumulative total of reported churches planted among oral cultures through oral Scripture engagement to over 110,000! Thank you, Lord! All for your Glory and the advancement of your Gospel until all have been reached. Read on for a story and other highlights from 2023.

One of our favorite Story Collections used in our “Bridges” orality equipping training events that our partners and team members often talk about is the “The Kingdom of God” series. We are bringing it up here in this month’s blog as Jesus talked so much about the Kingdom of God during His ministry while walking this earth 2,000 years ago. It is also especially relevant during the significant unrest and conflicts around the world that we are now seeing. Jesus spoke 126 times about the Kingdom of God in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and another 34 times in the rest of the New Testament. It is clear from what Jesus said about the Kingdom of God that we are now seeing the signs He predicted unfolding right before our eyes