Ministry Seeks to Spiritually Equip Students and Refugee Children in Eastern Europe
HURST, Texas, July 11, 2023 — EEM (Eastern European Mission), a ministry that has faithfully aided those in former Communist bloc countries for more than 60 years by supplying free Bibles, announced that it has reached its goal for the 2023 “Bibles for Kids” campaign. As a result, more than 560,000 Bibles will be provided to meet spiritual needs and the hunger for God’s Word among children and teens in Eastern Europe and beyond.
“We have a unique opportunity to disciple an entire generation of young believers through the provision of God’s Word,” said EEM President Bob Burckle. “Because of the generosity and sacrifices of our donors – many of whom are children themselves – hundreds of thousands of lives will be eternally changed.”
An example of the children served by EEM is 7-year-old Lev, a Ukrainian refugee now living in Croatia. Lev received his own children’s Bible after fleeing Ukraine with his mother when the war began. He now attends church and helps with local Bible distribution. He used his Ukrainian Children’s Bible from EEM in his language class where he learned to write for the first time.
In fact, many of the nations throughout Eastern Europe – which under Communist rule banned the Bible and Christian teaching – now welcome the distribution and use of Bibles in entire public school systems. Last year’s Bibles for Kids campaign enabled the ministry to deliver 225,000 children’s Bibles in Northern Macedonia alone. This year, EEM hopes to provide a significant number of children’s and teen Bibles in nations such as Hungary, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Romania and Russia. Bibles will be produced in 20 languages total, including Albanian, Armenian, Belarusian, Croatian, Czech, Polish and Serbian, among others.
“We appreciate the many thousands of individuals who have made commitments to join arms with us so that every child in Eastern Europe and beyond who needs a copy of God’s Word in their own language is able to have one,” said EEM Vice President Dirk Smith. “The need in this region is great, but we know that by working together in unity of purpose, we can see the gospel message reach everyone whose hearts are open.”
To learn more about EEM’s annual Bibles for Kids campaign and make a donation, visit https://www.eem.org/biblesforkids/.
About Eastern European Mission
Eastern European Mission (EEM) was established in 1961 to provide Bibles and Bible-based materials throughout the former communist bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Today, EEM publishes and prints Bibles and New Testaments as well as Teen Bibles, Children’s Bibles and coloring books, distributing them through a vast network of partner churches and organizations which last year reached 36 countries in 26 different languages.
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Media Contact:
A. Larry Ross Communications
Melany Ethridge, 214-912-8934
melany@alarryross.com