An additional 10 million Americans turned to the Bible over the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic than in years before, the American Bible Society’s (ABS) new 2021 State of the Bible report noted—with one in four adults saying they read the Bible more frequently over this past year than in prior years. The report released last week, found that over 181 million Americans opened a Bible during the past year, compared to the 169 million adults who used a Bible at least occasionally in earlier years.
The American Bible Society’s findings coincide with the compelling experiences of Youth For Christ which saw a major spike in its YFC 3Story® Bible sales during the pandemic.
From March 2020-December 2020, the YFC Store sold 305 YFC 3Story® Bibles to staff nationwide; and from January 2020-February 2020, the YFC Store sold another 140 YFC 3Story® Bibles to staff as well. In all, YFC staff were able to share the Word of God with more than 445 students ages 11 to 19 in 2020—a number that accounts, by the way, only for YFC 3Story Bibles. The number doesn’t include digital versions of the Bible that were read by students, nor does it include any of the non-YFC 3Story® Bibles purchased by faith leaders for America’s young people.
“Clearly, through God’s faithfulness, a variety of our organization’s locations were prepared to have enough Bibles to share with young people during the pandemic. We feel certain that the Word of God comforted and inspired these hundreds of teens, and perhaps many more, during one of the toughest years of their lives—and we continue, every day, to share the Word of God and God’s teachings with as many teens as we can.” – Dan Wolgemuth
Numerous YFC 3Story® Bibles were placed in care packages for teens during the pandemic.
When some states first began reopening to small group gatherings after the lockdowns, the Bible was often the first item faith leaders would distribute to teens. The thought-provoking YFC 3Story® Bible contains 500 “connection point” questions that inspire teens to read the Bible closely—and to think about its application to their lives. In addition, more than 150 “then and now” features weave together stories of today’s young people with Scripture—helping teens to talk more openly about God and to build deeper, more genuine relationships with one another.
The YFC 3Story® Bible, based on the organization’s 3Story® relational ministry approach, encourages young people to better understand how God’s story overlaps with the story of their own lives and that of their friends—resulting in deeper fellowship with others and with God.
