Faith Comes By Hearing Sees Steady Increase in Donations Despite National Report Declaring Decrease in Giving to Religious Institutions

"Giving USA" says dollars going to religious groups is declining; Audio Bible ministry bucks the trend

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The recently released annual report from Giving USA shows that charitable support for religious organizations dropped by 1.7 percent in 2011.  It is the second straight year there has been a dip in donations to churches and other faith-based groups.  Faith Comes By Hearing, however, reports donors have continued to sacrificially give to support their work and they have seen a notable upturn in revenue from one year to the next. 

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The Audio Bible ministry focuses on recording and providing access to the Scriptures in every language in the world.  Their continually growing catalog of New Testament recordings currently contains 657 languages, which are spoken by over 5 billion people, or over two-thirds of the world's population.  Realizing the importance of digital technology, the ministry has created the Digital Bible Project – which is the world's largest digital repository of Bible text and audio.  They allow access on mobile devices through their app known as Bible.is, in conjunction with online access via streaming, downloads and podcasts in their iTunes store.  Each distribution method is free of charge to the end user.    

Faith Comes By Hearing also uses a digital audio playback device they developed in-house called the Proclaimer.  This solar-powered unit is used to start Bible listening groups, with a focus on reaching the most disenfranchised population on the planet – the poor and illiterate.  More than 310,000 Proclaimers have been distributed free of charge and are in use in over 185 countries around the world.

"While charitable giving has declined generally, we have seen significantly increased support," states Jerry Jackson, FCBH founder and president.  "I think this reflects the core value of Christians related to the importance of the Bible regardless of the economy.  Our donors realize that half of the world's population are illiterate and live on less than $2 a day.  Even if they were given a print Bible, they'd never be able to read it."

The ministry also has an outreach to the U.S. military in the form of a portable, pocket-sized Audio Bible they call the Military BibleStick.  FCBH has distributed, free-of-charge, more than 218,000 units to every branch of the military through the chaplaincy corps.  In addition to individual donors supporting this project, some 5,000 churches have partnered by corporately giving to provide the Word of God to America's service members stationed around the globe.

"We are seeing fellow believers living out their faith.  Sacrificially giving – during tough economic times – to provide for those who have very little and to support those who sacrifice so much to protect us all," concludes Jackson.   

Established in 1972, Faith Comes By Hearing is celebrating their 40th year in ministry throughout 2012.

SOURCE Faith Comes By Hearing