The Need for Biblical Literacy in Germany

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When was the first time you opened a Bible? Perhaps you went through the story of Jonah in Sunday school or listened to your mother read the account of Noah’s Ark before bed as a child.

For Americans, it’s not uncommon to grow up being familiar with popular Bible stories—like Adam and Eve—even if your family never attended church. For others around the world, though, Bible literacy is declining at a much faster rate, specifically in Germany.

“When I was young, we had a lot of Bible studies. You could say that one-third of churchgoers went to a Bible study group,” said Carsten Bernhardt, Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM)’s German Language Director. “But now people in German churches don’t do Bible studies. Many of the people who say they’re Christians really don’t read the Bible regularly anymore.”

Pew Research also reports that nearly half of Germans say that religion is “not important to their lives,” only 9 percent pray daily, and 53 percent say they “seldom or never” attend religious services.

Seeing the nation’s growing need for the transformational power of the gospel, ODBM’s German office is committed to reaching readers with God’s Word by printing and distributing nearly 2,000 copies of Our Daily Bread each year. Still, they wish to do more.

“The work that we do impacts about 3,000 readers, but the effort will not be more if we serve 10,000,” said Carsten.
And thankfully, ODBM is not alone in this wish.

At the last conference I went to, there was a 60-year-old woman, and I talked to her about Bible reading,” said Carsten. “She said, ‘People think they know everything. They think they don’t need to read the Bible, but they do. Do you have anything that could help?’”

Carsten then gave her 50 copies of Our Daily Bread and reflected on other believers like her who are trying to spread the gospel in an increasingly post-Christian culture.

“There are still people who really care,” he said. “Pray that these people don’t give up.”

ODBM is proud to count itself amongst these people.

Therefore, we invite you to partner with us and pray that ODBM Germany would have the means to create and share more devotionals and inspire the nation with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.

Europe is a post-Christian region, like many others, which makes ministering to this part of the world particularly challenging.

If you’d like to support us in making the Bible understandable and accessible to all, donate today.

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Our Daily Bread Ministries

April 22, 2024

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