Bibles for America (BfA) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

religious organization Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manages: * the upkeep of places of worship, such as ...

dedicated to distributing free copies of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

Recovery Version The Recovery Version is a modern English translation of the Bible from the original languages, published by Living Stream Ministry. It is the commonly used translation of the local churches. The New Testament was published in 1985 with stu ...

study Bible and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

books by

Witness Lee Witness Lee (; September 5, 1905 – June 9, 1997) was a Chinese Christian preacher and hymnist belonging to the Christian group known as the local churches (or Local Church) in Taiwan and the United States. He was also the founder of Livin ...

and

Watchman Nee Watchman Nee, Ni Tuosheng, or Nee T'o-sheng (; November 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972), was a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century. His evangelism was influenced by the Plymouth Brethren. In 1922, ...

in the United States and Puerto Rico. Since its inception, BfA has distributed over one million copies of the New Testament as well as 2.9 million Christian books in 11,343 cities.

History

BfA was founded in the spring of 2000 in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

by a group of Christians in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

with the following statement of faith: *The Bible is the complete and only divine revelation, inspired by the Holy Spirit. *God is eternally one. He is also eternally the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the three being distinct but not separate. *Christ is both the complete God and the perfect man. He was divinely conceived in the womb of a human virgin, lived a genuine human life on earth, and died a vicarious and all-inclusive death on the cross. After three days He resurrected bodily and ascended to the heavens. He is now in glory, still fully God and fully man. He will return to reign over the earth in the millennium and in eternity. *The Spirit, the third of the Trinity, is equally God. All that the Father has and is, is expressed by the Son; and all that the Son has and is, is realized as the Spirit. *Man is unable to fulfill the requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory, and thus is in need of God’s salvation. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, which fulfilled all of God’s requirements, God forgives, justifies, and reconciles those who believe in Jesus Christ and His work. *The believers, based on Christ’s redemption, are regenerated by God with His Spirit that they may become His children possessing His life and nature. They enjoy a daily salvation in His Body in this age and the eternal salvation in the coming age and in eternity. *The New Jerusalem as the consummation of God's salvation will be the mutual habitation of the redeeming God and His redeemed elect for eternity. The group bases its mission on this faith. Its theme verse is 1 Timothy 2:3b-4: "Our Savior God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth." The group recently incorporated more Christian literature by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee into its repertoire and continues to distribute the New Testament and Christian books through its website and various distribution events.

Products

The organization makes a selection of Christian literature freely available. They currently distribute the New Testament Recovery Version and literature by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, considering these to have the best potential to benefit its recipients. A list of literature that BfA provides is listed below. *

The New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christi ...

study Bible A study Bible is an edition of the Bible prepared for use by a serious student of the Bible. It provides scholarly information designed to help the reader gain a better understanding of and context for the text. History Perhaps the first editi ...

*''Basic Elements of the Christian Life'', vols. 1-3, by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee *''Spiritual Nourishment'', a daily devotional with excerpts from the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee *''The All-Inclusive Christ'' by Witness Lee *''The Glorious Church'' by Watchman Nee *''The Normal Christian Life'' by Watchman Nee and ''The Economy of God'' by Witness Lee *Other products include gospel tracts, a topical Bible study guide, a Bible study mobile app, and a Bible-reading scheduler

Activities

*Filling orders via phone or their website for copies of the New Testament Recovery Version and Christian books by mail. *Distribution events throughout the United States at local universities, colleges, shopping centers, etc. *Distribution of military-tailored products to U.S. military service members and their families on military installations around the world. *Facilitating local Bible studies for interested recipients when possible. *Web-based gospel outreach.“Bibles for America: The God-shaped Vacuum.” ''CypressCampusChristians''. Cypress College, 5 May 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013

Affiliates

BfA is affiliated with Bibles for Canada, Bibles for Europe, Bibles for Australia, Bibles for New Zealand, and Bibles for Japan. Rhema Literature Distributors is a similar entity operating outside of these countries. Bibles for America has a working relationship with

Living Stream Ministry Living Stream Ministry (LSM), originally named Stream Publishers when founded in 1965 by Witness Lee, is a non-profit corporation currently based in Anaheim, California. LSM publishes the works of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, including the Recov ...

(LSM), the major publisher of the books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in the United States, and secures the books it distributes through this publisher. However, BfA is an entity independent from LSM.

References

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External links

Publications and Biographies of Watchman Nee and Witness LeeBfA website for Bible-reading schedulesThe Recovery Version of the Bible onlineOnline publications by LSMLife-Study Radio BroadcastFree Recovery Version Bible
Bible societies Christian organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in California Organizations based in Irvine, California Christian organizations established in 2000 2000 establishments in California