We have launched a new website and this page has been archived.Find out more

[Skip to Content]

27 April 2012

Evaluation report reveals success of Biblefresh

The Biblefresh year has been hailed a huge success in an evaluation report undertaken by think-tank Theos.

Separate surveys were conducted to monitor the impact on individual users and official partners of Biblefresh - an initiative of the Alliance working with 120 partners to reignite and re-enthuse the Church in its passion for the Bible.

Nick Spencer of Theos, who presented the results at a Biblefresh evaluation day on Tuesday (24 April), said: “The Biblefresh research revealed many happy customers, with both partners and users feeling the initiative had been a successful enterprise: deepening people's knowledge of the Bible, giving them confidence in what it is, and, importantly, encouraging a wide range of different churches and organisations to work together in a common project.”

The results illustrate that the year-long campaign helped Christians to feel enthusiastic about the Bible as they read the scriptures more frequently, enabling them to place a greater value on its worth. Partners indicated the achievement of Biblefresh in immersing and familiarising people with the Bible, helping them to see the bigger picture and its wider relevance.

A diverse range of activities were undertaken, including Bible-reading programmes, special services, readathons, new websites and photography competitions. Partners also organised a variety of public and outreach events in their local communities, often linking up with schools or public libraries. The synergy with the 400th anniversary of the KJV translation of the Bible was key in the year’s impact and the wider cultural celebration across the nation also raised the profile of Biblefresh.

Particular highlights include the Viral Bible Project which sent 200 limited edition Viral Bibles out across the UK and beyond. One Bible from Keswick travelled over 14,000 miles across the UK, Turkey, Germany and South Sudan. The E100 Bible reading resource and the Biblefresh website were hugely popular. Over £74,000 has been raised to support the translation work of the Bible Society and Wycliffe in Burkina Faso, with donations still being received.

More than half of partner respondents stated the Biblefresh year helped them to better understand what other Christian organisations do, while many shared best practice and are keen to work together again in the future. There was also acknowledgement that these partnerships can be challenging and much work is still to be done in nurturing better working together.

Krish Kandiah, executive director: churches in mission of the Evangelical Alliance, who headed up the Biblefresh campaign, said: “I was really encouraged as I read the report of what we the Church, were able to do together. One person told me: ‘I have been involved with Bible engagement for the past 20 years and I have never seen anything have the impact that Biblefresh has made.’ There's still a long way to go in helping the Church recover confidence and appetite in God's word - but we made a good start.”

The full Biblefresh report is available to download as well as an infographic highlighting the achievements of the year and videos with the key partners reflecting on the year.