History

Mary Jones was from a poor family, the daughter of a weaver, who lived at Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, Abergynolwyn, at the foot of Cader Idris near Dolgellau. She was born in December 1784. She professed the Christian faith at eight years of age, and it became her burning desire to possess a Bible of her own. Welsh Bibles were scarce in those days. Having saved for six years until she had enough money to pay for a copy, she started one morning in 1800 for Bala, and walked the 26 miles over mountainous terrain, barefoot as usual, to obtain a copy from Rev. Thomas Charles, the only individual with Bibles for sale in the area.

According to tradition, it was the impression that this visit by Mary Jones left upon him that impelled Charles to propose to the Council of the Religious Tract Society the formation of a Society to supply Wales with Bibles.

The British and Foreign Bible Society dates back to 1804 when a group of Christians, associated with the Religious Tract Society, sought to address the problem of a lack of affordable Bibles in Welsh for Welsh-speaking Christians.

Objective

To supply two million Bibles, over and above our general annual Bible distribution, as well as two million sets of Bible-based literacy booklets to those in need as part of our bicentenary celebrations in 2020. This will help to alleviate Bible poverty and address the literacy need in your country.

Background

Recent research shows that there is a need for 23 million Bibles in South Africa.
Many households may only have one Bible and need more for the members of the household. In South Africa, 5% of Christian households do not have a Bible at all.
Unemployment is a socio-economic problem worldwide, its is also a major challenge in South Africa, with its national unemployment rate of 29,1%. In some communities, it is as high as 60%. South Africa is among the top 20 countries in the world with the highest unemployment rates.
According to the latest figures, 27,2% of the economically active population of South Africa is unemployed.

Basic education in South Africa is inadequate. A recent study proved that South Africa is facing a lower than the internationally recognized benchmark.

Pray for the project:

 For more information go to www.biblesociety.co.za