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Lifewords (formerly Scripture Gift Mission) is a Christian mission based in London, but with offices worldwide. It exists to promote the positive influence of the Bible on everyday life. This has been done traditionally through literature distribution, but more recently includes websites, film, educational programmes and live events. Lifewords does not carry out mission initiatives directly, but provides resources to other mission organisations, churches, or individuals. All Lifewords' work is funded by donations, and the agency currently operates in over 25 countries.
homepage of Lifewordsthe Lifewords blog
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Lifewords (formerly Scripture Gift Mission) is a Christian mission based in London, but with offices worldwide. It exists to promote the positive influence of the Bible on everyday life. This has been done traditionally through literature distribution, but more recently includes websites, film, educational programmes and live events. Lifewords does not carry out mission initiatives directly, but provides resources to other mission organisations, churches, or individuals. All Lifewords' work is funded by donations, and the agency currently operates in over 25 countries.
History
Scripture Gift Mission (SGM) was founded in 1888 by a printer named William Walters, who believed the Bible should be accessible to all. His two main innovations were to make the Bible available free of charge, and to dispatch two painters ( James Clark and Henry Andrew Harper) toPalestine
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Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
to produce illustrations. Both of these were controversial at the time, as it was felt that they devalued the scriptures. SGM produced Bible materials for troops in the Boer War in 1899, and the supply of military items was to become an important part of the mission's work, particularly during the two World Wars. In 1945, the society distributed hundreds of thousands of New Testaments according to the text of the Miniature Bible by Franz Eugen Schlachter
Franz Eugen Schlachter (28 July 1859 – 12 January 1911) was a revivalist preacher, classical scholar and the translator of the German language Schlachter Bible.
He was the son of Joseph Franz Schlachter, a business man from Mühlhausen/Alsace ...
to German POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
s in English prisons.
In the post-war years, SGM continued to expand, starting offices in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, South Africa, Poland and India, among others. Translation work was an important feature of the mission, and SGM published its 1000th language in 2002, according to their ''Interact'' magazine.
Following changes in the nature of their work, and a desire to move into new fields, SGM rebranded in 2005 and became SGM Lifewords (since 2017 - Lifewords). The organisation celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2013.
Current work
Lifewords produces literature in many languages, available from their offices worldwide or online. It remains free of charge. The range includes pastoral and counselling titles, ranges for Christmas and Easter, and more general evangelistic materials. Among Lifewords' broader portfolio is the Pavement Project, a counselling programme for street children, and Choose Life, a values education programme for Kenyan schools.External links
homepage of Lifewords
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