Extracts from the General Secretary’s Report
Mr President, Members and Friends of the Trinitarian Bible Society. In presenting the 161st Annual Report, we would like to acknowledge the Society’s duty to ascribe all praise and honour to the Triune God, Who in His matchless grace and infinite wisdom has been pleased to reveal Himself to sinful mankind in the Sacred Scriptures. This Divine Revelation is the glorious Gospel of the Blessed God, the knowledge of which is able to make men wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The Word of God, furthermore, is the Sword of the Spirit by which the Most High effectually accomplishes the purposes of His Divine Will in the salvation of sinners and the furtherance of His Kingdom here in this world.
In dependence upon the Lord for His gracious provision, enabling and blessing, the Society has, during the last year, continued to seek the glory of God and the salvation of sinners by circulating Protestant or uncorrupted versions of the Word of God among all nations. Whilst the Society has not been immune to the effects of the economic recession faced in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, we acknowledge that the good hand of the Lord has been upon the Society enabling us to supply many thousands of copies of the Holy Scriptures to individuals and Christian workers in different parts of the world. The total quantity of Scriptures distributed during the financial year has not been quite as high as in the previous year but we have much cause to believe that the Scriptures circulated have been, and will yet be, of great spiritual benefit to the many who have received them.
Circulation
During the last financial year the Society has been instrumental in distributing over 540,000 Bibles, 180,000 New Testaments and approximately 3 million other Scripture items. In addition, over 3 million New Testaments have been distributed (mainly in Brazil) under royalty agreements, making a total of over 6.8 million published items distributed in the year.
Income and Expenditure
In the goodness of the Lord the Society’s income during the year amounted to nearly £1.68 million, £350,000 of which came from the gifts and subscriptions of members and friends of the Society in different parts of the world. The Society’s expenditure totalled almost £1.71 million, of which the cost of Scriptures sold and granted was £1.14 million, resulting in a deficit at the end of the year of a little over £29,000. On 31st March the value of the Scriptures held by the Society was £869,000.
Scriptures in the English Language
It is the Society’s policy only to circulate the Authorised Version of the Bible in English and during the course of the year distribution of Scriptures in the English language have included 162,000 Bibles and 1,800,000 New Testaments and other smaller Scripture items. Sales of the Authorised Version here in the United Kingdom remain remarkably healthy notwithstanding the sustained competition of the modern versions and the considerable expenditure involved in the marketing of these versions. Also, it is encouraging to note that large quantities of the Society’s English Scriptures continue to be despatched for circulation in Africa, India and other parts of the English-speaking world.
Scriptures for Eastern Europe
As in the previous few years, the Society has used a considerable proportion of its funds to supply Scriptures in the Russian language for distribution in Russia and other Russian-speaking areas of the former Soviet Union. Distribution has included 274,000 Bibles, 91,000 New Testaments and Psalms and 380,000 other Scripture items. In addition, Bibles in Czech and Hungarian, New Testaments in Polish and “Words of Life” calendars in Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian were supplied to help meet the challenge of the great spiritual need that exists in the countries of Eastern Europe.
Scriptures for the Rest of the World
In addition to the English Scriptures and the Scriptures supplied to Eastern Europe, the Society has supplied copies of the Bible and/or New Testament in Arabic, Dutch, French, Gio, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Kanarese, Kaowlu, Kisanga, Lisu, Maltese, Portugese, Spanish and Telugu and Gospels and other Scripture items in these and a further 17 languages. The prayers of the Society’s supporters are earnestly requested that the translators, revisers and editors of the many translation projects in which the Society has an interest will be granted all needed grace and wisdom faithfully to continue in their work.
The Society’s Staff
The Committee takes this opportunity of expressing its thanks to the Society’s staff for their untiring labours in the cause of the Gospel. During the year two new members of staff were appointed to the Editorial Department, George and Debra Anderson, who for the previous year had been employed by the Society as Editorial Consultants whilst living in the United States. They arrived in the United Kingdom in July 1991 with their son Daniel, to assume their new responsibilities of overseeing the Editorial Department and the various translation projects in hand. The Society now has a well qualified and very able editorial team which under the blessing of the Lord, will be able to add significantly to the Society’s work in the years to come.
The Society’s Fellow Helpers
The Committee values the prayerful, financial and practical support of all its many friends and supporters throughout the world and extends its thanks to all who in various ways have helped the Society during the year. The Society is represented internationally through its associated Societies and overseas auxiliaries in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and elsewhere, and in the United Kingdom through its local auxiliaries, supporting churches and by those who address meetings on its behalf. It is the Committee’s desire that during the coming years many more of the Lord’s people in different parts of the world, especially among the younger generations, will be brought to appreciate the importance of the Society’s distinctive position. For the continued expansion of the work more supporters are needed to become prayerfully involved in promoting the circulation of faithful translations of the Word of God. The Society’s thanks are also due to former members of the General Committee of office-bearers of the auxiliaries at home and overseas who through age and for other reasons will not in the future be as actively or publicly engaged in the work as they have been in the past. We pray that the Lord will graciously raise up others to take their place.
“Brethren, pray for us”
We continue to live in a spiritually very needy world, with untold millions around us — both in the United Kingdom and abroad — living in darkness. The god of this world has blinded the minds of so many. Nevertheless, we look forward to the future with confidence, believing the promise of God’s Word: “My word . . . shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Several translation projects are nearing completion (including the Portuguese Bible and the Simte Bible) and we would value the continued prayers of our supporters that the final stages of production may be accomplished without undue difficulty. Please also pray that the Lord’s blessing will rest upon these copies of the Scriptures as they are distributed.
Considerable expenditure is incurred as each translation project reaches completion, and we trust that the Lord will provide the necessary resources for the future expansion of the work. Although the level of sales continues to be very depressed owing to the worldwide economic recession, we are thankful that our charitable income has been well maintained, and indeed has increased considerably in the first two months of the new financial year. We pray that this support will continue to be maintained, so that the proclamation of the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ may be furthered by the distribution of His written Word, sinners brought to a personal knowledge of the Saviour, and His people edified and built up in Him. May God thus be pleased to continue His blessings to this Society and His Name shall have all the praise!