(Photo Credit FCBH)
USA (MNN) — Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) began their Military BibleStick program in 2008. Today, they are announcing that more than 500,000 of these small, digital Audio Bibles have been provided free of charge to America’s brave men and women in uniform.
The ministry distributes the devices through active duty chaplains and chaplain assistants. To date, over 1,500 chaplains have requested BibleSticks and participated in the outreach.
With 180,000 new troops joining every year, and almost the same amount leaving active duty service, this represents about a 15% turnover each year. Also, when taking into consideration that the average troop age is 22 (a demographic that reads little but is engaged through audio/visual stimuli regularly), it is no surprise that the demand remains high for the BibleStick.
In addition, chaplains regularly report that this younger generation of soldiers does not attend chapel or church services routinely. Rather, as a part of the millennials, they seek a more personal and individual approach to their spiritual walk, making a portable Audio Bible an ideal fit for their lifestyle.
While the ministry has always given deployed troops the highest priority, they have recently seen an increase in requests from chaplains serving troops in VA hospitals. FCBH is committed to helping these veterans, as well.
“We realize that treating a soldier’s spiritual recovery is vital to their physical recovery,” says Troy Carl, vice president of FCBH. “God’s Word can be instrumental in helping with PTSD and other ‘internal’ wounds that our heroes come home with. As the Lord provides the resources, we’re dedicated to delivering more units.”
The ministry is able to provide the BibleSticks free of charge to chaplains as a result of generous individual donors and the collective giving of over 8,000 U.S. churches (across 120 denominations) that have graciously supported our troops with God’s Word in audio; many of these congregations have done so on multiple occasions since 2008. Click here to support Military BibleStick outreach.
Tell me more. I have an idea of how our church could participate. Thank you!
I heard about this on Mission Network News and now found the article on the website. Thank you for this great service to our volunteer troops! I have a request that one be given to my niece’s husband who is a lieutenant now deployed in Dubai for 2 more months (environmental engineer). He is not a reader, but being away from his wife and daughters he may give a listen and (with prayers) draw unto God! His wife is a nominal Christian–if he were to come home with a desire to really know God, it might get them all going to church again!
So if I tell you his name, can you see if you can get a Bible stick into his hands? He’s in the Air Force. Feel free to contact me by email, so I can give you details.
Hello Pastor Smith. Please give me a call at 1-800-545-6552. I will be happy to share with you how your church can get involved. Thank you.
Viola Chavez
Faith Comes by Hearing
Church Consultant
We are doing an outreach service in the field, how can we get our hands on these valuable items. We are not funded to make large purchases but we would like the community of soldiers families and others to be able to hear the Word of God as often as they like.
Contact Faith Comes By Hearing to let them know you’d like to help in a small way. You can reach them by phone: (800) 545-6552, or by e-mail: [email protected].
Sharon – MNN Office Manager — [email protected]