New Bible for Australian young people unlocks the power of God’s word   Navigating the tumultuous journey of adolescence is no easy feat.   Young people today face more pressures than ever. With negative social media, mental health concerns, and identity challenges rife, finding the focus to read the Bible is a challenge.   The Bible is transformative. If you can Open The Bible with someone, you are opening them to Jesus. And as Christians we know that Jesus is the hope of the world.   But in the ever-evolving landscape of youth ministry, equipping young hear ..read more

Illustrated Bible set to capture the imaginations and hearts of children in central Australia.   Nami Kulyuru told people how she’d always dreamed of creating a children’s Bible with stories told through paintings.  An artist and long-serving Bible translator, Nami longed to pass these stories on to her children and grandchildren using traditional artwork.  While she didn’t live to see it, Nami’s dream is coming to fruition with ‘Godaku Tjukurpa’ (the illustrated Pitjantjatjara children’s Bible) nearing completion.   Nami’s vision  For many years, Nami f ..read more

Darwin’s Nungalinya College is training workers to Open The Bible in Indigenous heart languages.  “The course here is helping me build my capacity. It’s helping me build my courage.” – Yurranydjil, Translation student and Wangurri translator  Across this wide brown land, aspiring translators like Yurrandjil long to Open The Bible in their heart languages.   But while some aspiring translators have the passion to make Scriptures available, they lack the formal training to make it a reality.  That’s where Nungalinya Theological College in Darwin comes in.   The ..read more

Indigenous language Bibles are bringing spiritual freedom in prison, says chaplain Deb. When Chaplain Deb* started ministering in a Northern Territory prison, she faced many barriers to Opening The Bible. By design, prisons are not easy places to be. Building trust can take years. But Deb didn’t give up. She worked hard to earn the respect of inmates and correctional staff – and now she’s seeing the fruits of this labour of love. “In the past 12 months, we’ve seen an incredible desire to engage with our Chaplains,” Deb reflects. “We’re seeing inmates open up and participate in Scripture studie ..read more

When Fern Martin agreed to work with Bible Society Australia Publishing to produce a Christmas story book and an Easter story book with her gift of art, it was her prayer that she could create a work which was respectful to God’s word and respectful to Aboriginal people at the same time. “I just kept on praying about it,” Fern said. Having moved out of the mainstream art scene around 30 years ago, Fern has since strictly painted God’s glory and illustrated the Scriptures. Fern came to faith in Jesus as a young single mother, having left an abusive relationship and returned to an area she used ..read more

In the bustling ports of Australia, among a great variety of ships, loading and unloading cargo, a silent yet profound ministry is reaching seafarers from around the globe. For over two decades, Rob Flinders, an ex-seafarer and a port missionary with the Seaman’s Christian Friend Society (SCFS), has been visiting ships arriving in Port Botany and Port Kembla. His mission is to offer Bibles, Bible Courses, and gospel tracts to seafarers from all over the world. “International Seafarers are contracted to remain onboard their ships for periods up to nine months at a time,” explains Rob “so it’s ..read more

For Yurranydjil, there is nothing more important than translating God’s word into heart languages, and she has been praying for years for God to provide other helpers in the work, so more may be done. “You know,” she says, “English is for the mind, but Yolŋu Matha is for the heart. And when we hear God’s word speak to us in the language that he has given us, it’s more precious, more valuable; it’s beautiful.” Coming from a multilingual kinship system, as do most Indigenous people, Yurranydjil expressed the hope that one day all Indigenous languages would have their own Bibles. “That would mak ..read more

Chaplains are bringing comfort and support as they Open The Bible with patients   Chaplaincy. It’s not an easy role to take on. But it’s a path that thousands of men and women choose to take as an expression of their love for Jesus.  All over Australia, Chaplains are bringing hope in the midst of the most private moments in people’s lives. Death. Birth. Illness. Grief. Incarceration. Frailty.  As part of our Scripture Grants Program, Bible Society Australia resources chaplains from around the country to do good work in:  Hospitals  Prisons  Aged care homes&n ..read more

Writing a Will provides an opportunity to reflect on what matters most in life. Bible Society Australia has quite the legacy. We got our start way back in 1817 – a month before Westpac opened its doors. This makes us the longest continuously operating organisation in Australia’s history. Back then, people understood that God was more important than money. And that’s still true today.   Our supporters still understand the meaning of legacy Annie Selman remembers supporting Bible Society as a 3-year-old, putting pennies into the bucket at Sunday School. It’s a legacy that’s stayed with her ..read more

Join us in praying for our brothers and sisters rocked by war and earthquake. The people of Syria have endured more hardship in recent years than many of us face in a lifetime. Most Syrians live with some form of trauma. After surviving more than a decade of war, the country endured an earthquake on 6 February that destroyed many lives. So Bible Society Syria has focused their energy on delivering trauma healing programs to bring back hope and light. George’s story George is the General Secretary of Bible Society Syria. He shared this story with us at Christmas. “During this year in particular ..read more