Bibles for Believers

In a Madagascar village so remote that many villagers have never looked at the face of a clock or answered a cell phone, Lally, the village witch doctor, decided to attend a Bible study about Jesus – not because of any interest in Christianity, but because she thought it would be “one more thing for my toolbelt for witchcraft.”

From witchcraft to Christ

The study was part of Project Philip, conducted by Bible League International. In this program, new believers invite others to participate in an 8- to 12-week Bible study focused on learning about Jesus. Lally completed the course, not as a follower of witchcraft, but as a disciple of Christ. As is customary for all new believers, Bible League provided Lally with a Bible.

“Lally read her Bible every day,” said Michael Woolworth, senior director of broadcast media at Bible League International. “And she got to Luke 19, where Jesus encounters Zacchaeus. When salvation came to him, he said to Jesus, ‘I’m giving away half of what I owe to the poor. I’m going to make things right with those I have deceived as a tax collector.’ When Lally read that, she knew what she had to do. She went to literally dozens of families that she had misled through witchcraft and invited them to come to that weekly Bible study. Today, 200 families have said, ‘We want to follow Christ,’ all because of a former witch doctor – one of the most unlikely of people in the world – and yet, God is pleased to work through people like that.”

Connected to the church

This is the heart of what Bible League does. While many other ministries focus on giving out Bibles, Bible League gives Bibles only to believers, making sure they are in a good place to begin their spiritual walk by completing the evangelistic Project Philip study.

“The big problem faced by under-resourced churches all over the world is that they’re planted where they don’t have access to the Bible,” Woolworth told The Stand. “They’re Christians; they simply cannot access the Bible. There’s not a place on earth where Bible League ministers, which is in about 75 of the world’s 200-plus countries, where we’re not connected to the local evangelical church. As participants go through Project Philip, they are connected to a local evangelical church. They’re baptized, and they come under the care of a local pastor. In the spirit of Philip in the New Testament, we help create Philips all over the world.”

Faithful friends

Bible League invites others to join in that spirit by contributing through Bible-giving campaigns. For just $5, a native-language Bible is put into the hands of a waiting believer.

“Our goal for spring is to do that for 16,000 Bible-less believers whom we know by name in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East,” Woolworth explained. “And there’s a Bible-for-Bible match, so when someone gives a Bible, there are friends of Bible League who will double that gift, regardless of size. We start the campaign March 1, and it will go on till June 30.”

The work of Bible League not only covers giving the Bibles, but also church-planter training, Bible-based literacy, and Bible translation.

“Because of faithful supporters like the AFA family,” said Woolworth, “we are able to circle back to new believers who thought they’d never have a Bible and say, ‘Your Bible is on its way!’” 

(Digital editor's note: This article was published first in the March 2025 print issue of The Stand. Click HERE for a free six-month subscription.)