The Bible Crisis
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that God’s servant may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
– 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
Australians are less engaged with their Bible reading than residents of the US and residents of the UK.
– McCrindle Research, 2014
We got these awful statistics that only 2 in 10 Australian Christians have any kind of Bible reading habit.
– Bible Society Australia, 2012
According to recent research, most Christians in Australia don't read the Bible. In fact, the Bible reading trend seems to be going down-hill! We've set out to strategically tackle this challenge. The Bible has played an instrumental part in our own lives, and we've seen God use it to transform others. We want to help Aussie Christians jump back into the Bible and discover what God is saying to them. We believe this will lead to transformed lives and communities.
About Us
Since 2004, Josh has volunteered on holiday camps with Scripture Union Queensland, helping people discover the joy of seeing the Bible come to life. In 2011 he was deeply challenged by research which showed that only a small portion of Australian Christians regularly read the Bible. He felt convinced that God wanted him to do something about it. This has led to his current role with Wycliffe Australia, focussing full-time on Bible engagement.
Amy married Josh in 2017 and joined Wycliffe Australia's Bible engagement team. Amy has experienced the power of God's word throughout her own life. She wants to be part of seeing others share that experience.
We both long to see the Holy Spirit transforming lives and communities through Australian Christians knowing and living God's word.
Research and Partnership
We don't think that developing one more video series or Bible study guide will solve this problem. There are already so many great, high quality resources out there. Instead of starting by developing a new resource, we've started by taking a step back to look at the big picture. Josh has been working with a handful of Aussie churches and Christian communities to run questionnaires and focus groups. As we compile the results of this research, we hope to gain insight into Bible use trends, and to understand people's biggest obstacles and biggest breakthroughs when it comes to getting into the Bible. This will give us an idea of where Wycliffe Australia can focus its efforts in this battle.
As we go, we're building relationships with churches, denominations, and Christian agencies. We want to work together to bring about change in this area. This is a big challenge facing Christianity in Australia, and if we're going to be effective, we need to work together as the Body of Christ. We need to put aside our desires for publicity or control. We need to talk to each other, and share ideas, research, resources and strategies. We believe that together we will be able to achieve more than we've achieved separately.
Storying and Training
One strategy that has helped many people to experience the Bible in a fresh new way is Bible storying. We're involved in training people to tell oral Bible stories. We've found that this process not only equips people to share God's word in a non-threatening way, but it also enriches and deepens the storyteller's own understanding of the Bible. Alongside our research and partnership, we plan to continue to train people to tell God's story orally.
Josh is also involved with Wycliffe's training department, helping to equip new Wycliffe members as they prepare for their field assignments.
Join Our Team
We can't do this work without prayer and financial partnership from people like you. If you can commit to praying for us, sign up for our monthly prayer emails. To give financially, click here, or use the links on the right hand side of the page.below. You'll be redirected to Wycliffe Australia's secure donation site. You can give a one-off donation, but it's even more useful if you can pledge to give an ongoing amount.
If you'd like to be involved in other ways, please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!