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God's favour in unexpected places
—Providing the Word of God is a project which shares the Bible with people living in Jordan. Launched in 2016, it has seen remarkable growth in the past few months.
Sharing the Bible in Jordan, where almost the entire population is Muslim and less than 2% are Christian is challenging but staff at the Bible Society there prefer to view their situation as a unique opportunity. There is a sense that their faith is being rewarded, God has shown his favour and Bible work has taken some significant steps forward.
In April, the Bible Society of Jordan was given formal registration with the Ministry of Culture, meaning they are now able to have a presence in privately run bookstores. Their new status has opened opportunities for participation in a wide range of national and international events.
One such event was the inaugural Ramadan Book Fair held in the Amman Exhibition Centre. The Bible Society was the only Christian presence among 40 publishers and from their stand they were able to sell or distribute Bibles for free. They were also able to offer books on a variety of topics, discussing subjects like the reliability of the Bible and the divinity of Jesus.
The presence of the new bookshop continues to make the Bible Society more visible to Jordanians and people visiting Amman. And along with this new, raised profile has come another opportunity.
Another first was the opening of a Bible Society Bookshop in Jordan’s capital city, Amman. The centrally located store opened in May and is situated in an area of the city popular with tourists and local shoppers. It has been visited by people from a variety of faith backgrounds and provides the opportunity to share the love of Christ with anyone who walks through its door. Many of these visitors have said how good it is to see a Christian presence in the middle of Amman and remarkably, 9,000 Bibles and books have been sold within the first three months of opening.
The presence of the new bookshop continues to make the
Bible Society more visible to Jordanians and people visiting
Amman. And along with this new, raised profile has come
another opportunity.
An invitation recently arrived from a local school asking the Bible Society to provide a series of interactive lessons for some of its female pupils. Each lesson explained the work of the Bible Society and explored how the Bible’s message can make a lasting difference in someone’s life. Bible Society staff were encouraged by the conversations which followed and are praying for further opportunities in schools.
Reports of great fruitfulness where such challenges to Bible mission exist are an encouragement for us here in Scotland. We celebrate those milestones with our colleagues and give thanks to God for each opportunity that comes. As more funding becomes available it is hoped that the Providing the Word of God initiative will extend to further areas of Jordanian society, including the provision of Bibles and pastoral visits to prisons.
Be inspired by a virtual tour of the Bible Society of Jordan’s new Bookshop in the video above.
