Most people reading this page have never had to wonder whether they could afford a Bible. In much of the Western world, Bibles are abundant — in homes, in hotels, in thrift stores for a dollar. It is easy to assume the rest of the world has caught up.
It has not.
In country after country across the Global South, Bibles are scarce, unaffordable, or simply absent. In many places, a single Bible costs the equivalent of a month’s wages — if it can be found at all outside a major city. Smartphones haven’t solved this: in the communities we serve, phones are small, data is expensive, electricity for charging is unreliable, and nothing replaces a physical Bible.
Not because they don’t want one — but because economic hardship, geographic isolation, and limited access place God’s Word out of reach for millions of believers. They gather. They worship. They lead churches. And they do it without the one book our faith depends on.
The Need Is Urgent
Requests for Bibles come to us regularly from partner schools and ministry networks on the ground — men and women who know their communities and know exactly what is missing. These needs are verified, urgent, and often heartbreaking.
In rural Central African Republic, we met a group of twelve pastors who share a single Bible between them. Each one copies sections of Scripture onto paper by hand so he can study and preach in his own church. Twelve men. Twelve congregations. One Bible.
One Picture From the Congo
A missionary working in the Democratic Republic of Congo shared the following account from the Maniema Province — a region devastated by five years of war between 1997 and 2002, during which rebel militia groups systematically destroyed Bibles. The effects are still felt today.
“Through our visits to Maniema and other provinces like it, we discovered that most of our pastors do not have Bibles. They typically preach with just a piece of scratch paper in hand where they have copied verses down. In addition, the majority of students enrolled in our Bible School Extensions have not had Bibles.
While speaking in a combined church service in Kindu with about 500 in attendance, I asked how many owned a Bible. When I saw the response I quickly grabbed my camera, stepped off the platform and took this picture while praying under my breath, ‘Lord, help us to meet this need.’ There were only three in the whole crowd.”
Three Bibles. Five hundred people.
How We Work
Global Christian Book Fund partners with ministries already distributing Bibles in the regions where need is greatest. We don’t work alone — we resource organizations that already have the relationships, trust, and distribution networks on the ground. They identify the need. We help meet it.
We believe the Scriptures are the foundation of everything else we do. No library, no book set, no theological training means anything apart from access to God’s Word itself. This is where it starts.
Give Toward This Need
Through strategic partnerships, GCBF distributes Bibles in volume — moving them into places where they are not available through any other means. A gift here doesn’t fund a program. It helps put an actual Bible into an actual pair of waiting hands.
Gifts to Global Christian Book Fund go to our general ministry fund, which we use to meet the most urgent needs on the ground — including Bible sourcing, shipping, and distribution through our trusted partner networks. We work to keep costs low so more Bibles reach more hands.
Make a gift today and help put God’s Word in the hands of a believer who has been waiting for it. Or consider a monthly gift — consistent giving lets us respond to distribution requests as they come in, without delay.
Help Meet This Need
Make a gift today and help put God’s Word in the hands of a believer who has been waiting for it. Or consider a monthly gift — consistent giving lets us respond to distribution requests as they come in, without delay.
All gifts to the Global Christian Book Fund support our general ministry fund. We direct resources where the need is greatest, working with trusted partners on the ground. The projects described on this page represent the kind of work your giving makes possible.