The Bible Comes to You -- By Texting

Text Messages Deliver Life-Changing Bible Passages

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ANS) -- Look around...everywhere you go, people are on their cell phones, chatting with others, playing video games and texting their friends.

In fact, texting is now one of the most common ways to communicate. In the U.S. alone, people send around 530 million text messages every single day.

According to a news release, Faith Comes By Hearing Audio Bible ministry is now using text messaging to deliver God's Word in audio.

By texting “BIBLE” to 80672, people can have the encouraging Word of God sent directly to their cell phone. Once subscribed, people will receive a chapter a day of the Audio Drama Bible. In less than a year, people can listen through the entire New Testament.

“The cell phone is a perfect way to deliver God's Word,” said Troy Carl, national director for Faith Comes By Hearing, speaking in a news release. “What do you do with a phone? You put it to your ear and listen. Phones are inherently made for listening, so it just makes sense.”

Carl said people can easily get into God's Word wherever they are.

“Now you can listen to God's Word while getting ready for your day, while commuting to work or walking to class,” Carl said in the news release. “Every day you get a text message containing a link that contains a chapter of the Audio Drama New Testament.”

Faith Comes By Hearing launched this outreach effort because of the potential number of people that can only be reached through cell phones or other mobile devices.

“Mobile phone distribution is a critical element to spreading the gospel,” said Carl in the news release. “Here in the U.S., and worldwide, cell phones are actually growing at a more rapid rate than internet access and capability.”

“Research shows more than 298 million people in the U.S. own cell phones,” Carl added. “That's not the future; that's right now. We can reach millions of people with the Word of God right now.”

In 2009, the ministry will add over 300 languages to this new text messaging outreach.

Standard text messaging and data transfer rates apply as provided in your wireless plan (contact your carrier for pricing plans and details). For more information, contact Faith Comes By Hearing at 800-545-6552 or e-mail info@fcbhmail.org