Archbishop Jensen: My dream begins with the Word

[...] There are many testimonies to the power of the Bible to bring people to a knowledge of God. It is one of our chief evangelistic weapons. But knowledge – and ownership – of the Bible is growing less common, especially amongst younger people. This lack of knowledge will make the overall task of evangelism more difficult.

One of the earliest works done by Christians in Sydney in the 19th century was to go from door to door distributing the Bible. They saw this as a vital task if people were going to know God. In those days literacy was a problem and Christians were also very busy teaching people to read and write. Literacy and the Bible go hand in hand.

Today the challenge is a similar one. We want people to have access to the Word of God in their own language. Books remain an easily transportable and accessible way of communicating knowledge. But books are not alone.

Down through history many people could not read. But they could all listen as long as the Word made sense to them. If we wish to make the Word of God well-known, we may expect to use contemporary means of communication so that all will have access. For some this will mean reading, for others viewing or listening.

I have a dream – a dream to give all our fellow citizens in the Diocese a copy of the word of God. This would have to be a major Christian effort and would involve planning, training, publications, prayer. If we set aside the year of 2009 in particular (the 50th anniversary of the first Billy Graham Crusade) and worked together on such a great project, I think we would experience much joy in the Lord’s service. It would also help fulfil the aim of our Diocesan Mission that all may hear his call to repent and believe on him. Read more
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