Number of Bible banks passes 20 

The number of Bible banks in England has now passed 20. Eighteen of these are in the Black Country, with another two in Birmingham and one in Durham  

 
Bible banks enable anyone who wants his or her own Bible or New Testament to have one for free. The project is the initiative of the Black Country Mission, an ecumenical and voluntary organisation based in Cradley Heath Baptist Church.
 
They include nearly all the major Protestant churches including Church of England, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, the Salvation Army, Wesleyan Reformed and the People’s Mission.  
 
They include also one Christian Church Shop in Dudley and the Christian Heritage Centre, Sandwell which is visited on a regular basis by school children who are given the opportunity to have a free Bible.  
 
Cradley Heath church member Robert Jones said the setting up of the Bible banks has been successful for a number of reasons. ‘God loves to bless the distribution of His Word (Isaiah 55 v 11), churches of various persuasions are united in their belief in the importance of God’s Word; Bibles are free and available to anyone who wants one – “Freely you have received – freely give” (Matthew 10 v 8).’

The overall objective of the Black Country Mission is to ensure that every household in the Black Country has a copy of the Bible or part of the Bible by 2024.

In order to achieve this the Black Country Mission has a five fold ministry in schools, nursing homes, setting up Bible banks, outreach and door-to-door work.