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Michigan Youth Triggers Collection of 20,000 Bibles for Overseas Missions

A teenager in a Michigan church started an effort to collect thousands of Bibles for distribution in Africa and India, according to The Christian Post. SonRise Church of Howell, Mich., has set a goal of collecting 20,000 Bibles for the international missions organization Christian Resources International, who will distribute them overseas.

“The Bibles will go to India and Africa,” said Jessica Wisuri, special projects director for CRI. “They are distributed through CRI missionaries to be used for training pastors, evangelism, lending libraries, and Bible libraries.”

The idea for the collection came from 14-year-old Jordan Belanger, a member of SonRise’s youth group. “We just wanted to do something to get the name of God out there,” said Belanger to local media. “I didn’t expect anything to actually happen from something I said…But it’s pretty cool.”

“It’s inspirational to see young people really to step out and do something beyond themselves,” said SonRise’s youth pastor Patrick Erck.

The youth group has currently collected around 1,000 Bibles and will continue collecting them through December 20. Since the 1950s, CRI has donated more than $255 million worth of free Bibles as well as Christian teaching tools to more than 160 countries.