The Word
Dear Friends,
In our previous update, we wrote about YWAM’s four legacy words. The fourth of these is “End Bible Poverty Now!”The beginnings of this word came from a vision of Bible distribution that LorenCunningham had in 1967, in Mexico. This has grown into a 6-part vision to see God’s Word spread throughout the world. We are to “pray, translate, publish, distribute, educate, and motivate people for Bible engagement.”
Recently, on our campus, there has been an increased excitement around Bible distribution. For years, we would bring a box of Bibles to our street evangelism outreaches. They’d have sticky notes or bookmarks helping us identify the wide range of translations. We would be encouraged if one person was compelled to take a Bible after a conversation. Yet in the past couple of months, we have noticed a shift. People come up to the table asking for Bibles. Eagerly searching for a Bible in their language. Recently, a young man came and asked for a French Bible. After taking it, a team member approached him. As he looked at the table of contents, the young man began to weep! He’d found what he had been looking for. A local pastor told us a recent story of another young man knocking on a church’s door, excitedly stating that the just heard God had written a book and the church should have a copy. The pastor was slightly confused before he realized he was asking for a Bible.
In the past three weeks, our Bible table has given out over 50 Bibles. You can read another testimony from the table below.
Distribution is vital to ending biblical poverty, so too is education and motivation. In 2025, we ran 6 Bible courses and one seminar in Lausanne, as well as one in North Africa, totalling around100 students. In 2026, we are aiming to grow this. Our 9-month School ofBiblical Studies is once again offered in Korean / English and could potentially have more than a quarter of all Bible students we had this year.
God’s word is essential to people coming to know him and his kingdom coming to earth. May you be encouraged to engage afresh with his word and always be ready to share God’s book with anyone who might be looking for it.
Outreach
A Hunger for God’s Word
Rebecca is one of our team members on the Ending Bible Poverty initiative in Lausanne. This is her recent testimony.
I just met a guy named German, who is from Peru. He came by our free Bibles table, and as we talked, I could tell he believed in a God, but didn’t really know Him personally. I got to hear more of his story, and when he asked what I’m doing here, I began sharing about who theLord is to me and how He’s the reason I’m here. He became really interested and told me that he believes there is a God, but he doesn’t practice “religion.”
I asked if he had a Bible, and he told me he hadn’t had one since he lived in Peru. So I sat with him and showed him some of my favourite verses, like Isaiah 43:1-2. He read it in Spanish and was in awe. “I never knew this was in here,” he said.
We kept talking about Scripture, and he told me he was going to start reading it. He said, “I want to learn more about this God.” He also shared that he has seen people evangelizing on the streets before, but never in a way that felt so real. In that moment, he said he became so aware of God’s presence. He walked away with a brand new Spanish bible.
The Lord is moving and stirring people’s hearts down in the city as we make ourselves more available to be used as his hands and feet.
