Whenever I talk with our partners who work secretly in North Korea, they tell me good news and bad news. The good news is that the underground church there is growing — despite the most brutal religious persecution in the world.
The bad news is there aren’t nearly enough Bibles for all the believers.
I recently learned the heartbreaking story of a North Korean woman who asked for 100 Bibles to distribute in her community. But because the supply of Bibles is so critically low, our partner was able to give her only one copy.
That’s how great the demand is!
The woman, whom I’ll call Hye, is a member of an underground church in an extremely remote part of North Korea. “It is difficult for people like me to even lay eyes on a Bible,” Hye said. “Imagine how much more difficult it is to actually get one!”
Bibles are forbidden in North Korea. Hye can’t go to a Christian bookstore — or any bookstore — to get a Bible. She can’t even talk about a Bible openly without risking imprisonment.
So when Hye traveled miles and miles across the country and approached our partner to ask for copies of God’s Word, she was putting everything on the line.
But she believed it was worth the risk.
Hye explained that the only “Bible” her church has is a stack of loose pages of Scripture — mostly hand-copied on carbon paper.
Church members take two or three pages at a time and carefully study them … front and back. Still, Hye and her fellow Christians long for an entire Bible of their own.
“For believers in my church, even the dream of actually owning a precious Bible is enough to send our hearts racing!” she said.
They don’t care that owning a Bible in North Korea is extremely risky … or that Christians who are caught can be sent to a labor camp for 15 years! They’ve heard stories of the terrible conditions in the camps and how many people survive only a couple of years inside — making their 15-year punishment essentially a death sentence.
But that’s a risk these North Korean Christians are willing to take to read God’s Word. That’s how valuable the Bible is to them.
“Without Bibles, how can Christians grow spiritually?” Hye asked.
You see, with so few Bibles — and no good teaching available from outside North Korea — there’s a real risk of heresy developing when people can’t read the Truth. That’s yet another reason sending Bibles is so important.
It breaks my heart to think that Hye returned home with only one Bible when she needed 100 copies. People are begging for the Gospel, and we don’t have enough copies to meet the demand!
I can’t think of a greater gift you can give someone besides God’s Word. Today, you can make one North Korean believer’s dream a reality by providing them with a complete copy of the Bible — for just $10.
And since believers often share their copies with family and friends, your gift will multiply so you reach even more people with God’s Word!
Will you please give the Good News today to one hungry Christian?
Imagine the impact when you give them access to Scripture. You’ll be showing them they are not alone. You’ll be reassuring them that their brothers and sisters are praying for them.
By giving a Bible, you will provide hope.
Right now, Christians like Hye are begging for Bibles! And you can answer them by providing the comfort of God’s Word.