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Having developed new Bible formats, the next challenge was finding alternatives to traditional evangelical "delivery systems," most of which fail to reach large swaths of the American public. Here again, the direct-to-culture group did its thinking far outside the box.

First group members created a new identity for the group's activities. "We didn't think everyone would embrace products imprinted with the name International Bible Society, so we created a new name for these products: IBS Publishing," Pauuw says.

The team then began placing ads in magazines like Sierra (which had published a theme issue on "spirituality and the environment" and Utne Reader, which featured a cover story called "Designer God" about how people can create their own mix-and-match religions.

Additional ads are scheduled for Harper's, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair magazines. These ads will include the address for the direct-to-culture group's Web site (www.onedeepwell.com), which provides a phone number people can call to request free booklets.

The group also arranged for 60,000 households in the Seattle area to receive copies of Luke's version of the Christmas story on December 22. The Bible portions were enclosed in a plastic bag holding that morning's copy of The Seattle Times. "Using demographic research, we found that Seattle's high-tech suburbs were one of the most unchurched regions in the country," Paauw says. "So that's where we thought portions of the Bible might be helpful."

Paauw says he still faces unanswerable questions about the program's success. "It's difficult to calculate what 'success' means with activities like these," he says. "But for me, I guess it all comes down to whether or not we're okay believing that the Holy Spirit works through the words of the Word."

Steve Rabey is the author of In Search of Authentic Faith (WaterBrook).

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christianity Today magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Christianity Today.

The IBS site also has a press release about its David book.

Onedeepwell.com offers resources for those unfamiliar with the Bible. One area offers articles on architecture and overview, another focuses on specific books, and a third looks at popular culture's interaction with the Bible.

The Wisdom Chronicles site offers the online equivalent of the small books.

Other International Bible Society sites examine creation, the apocalypse, grieving, and other topics.

IBS's Light magazine has several articles on repackaging Scripture.

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April 23 2001, Vol. 45, No. 6