Bible Listening Campaign Begins in San Antonio

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When Senior Pastor Jeff Harris and Associate Pastor Mike Sharrow of Grace Point Church in San Antonio first heard how 65 percent of Christians have never read the New Testament, they were so skeptical they decided to poll fellow church members.

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"I thought this couldn't be true for our church," said Sharrow.

The results surprised them.

"We found 72 percent had never read the Gospels," said Sharrow.  "We surveyed our engaged members -- people in small groups, Bible studies and those who had been at the church for years.  They're committed and present; they're plugged in."

"We're a Bible-based church," said Harris.  "We teach it, preach it, give it away, and yet the statistics prove that many people are still missing it."

Grace Point's leadership decided to take a different approach to help their members engage in God's Word -- by listening.

This forward-looking church became the first San Antonio church to participate in an Audio Bible listening campaign called You've Got The Time.  Through this 2010 initiative, Faith Comes By Hearing provides free Audio Bibles to churches and parishes that agree to listen through the New Testament.  

This 2010 campaign is just getting started, and already 30 churches have signed up along with the Archdiocese of San Antonio, which plans to time its campaign to Lent.

In 40 days at 28 minutes a day, people can listen through the entire New Testament. People often listen in their car, at the gym, or while getting ready for work.

Sharrow explains, "It's been incredible.  Within the first week, we received emails and phone calls.  People were saying, 'Help me understand why Jesus calls me to this. Help me understand why God makes this so pronounced in His Word, because I can't ignore it.  I heard it.  I know it's true.'"

"Bible listening opened up a whole new set of conversations," said Sharrow.  "No longer was I having to advocate anything; instead, the people were coming to me saying, 'Help me understand the Bible.'"

"When Faith Comes by Hearing shared about Biblical illiteracy world-wide, I knew Grace Point had to get involved, we had to do something different to get people into God's Word."

Learn more about receiving free Audio Bibles for your church at the ministry's website, www.FaithComesByHearing.com, or by calling 800-545-6552.

SOURCE Faith Comes By Hearing