Sow 1 Billion is an extraordinary world-church initiative seeking to print and distribute 1,000 million invitations to study the Bible. Hundreds of millions of these small tracts have already been printed in many different languages, from Kiswahili to Creole; Amharic to Tigrina; Mongolian to Hindi. This massive global project is a joint effort between the General Conference, its 13 world divisions, and various lay organizations of the church.
Sow 1 Billion challenges a dominant paradigm of evangelism, a paradigm that places the responsibility for sharing the gospel largely on the shoulders of "evangelism professionals." In contrast, the premise of Sow 1 Billion is that every church member can and should be involved in sharing their faith on a daily basis; that when Jesus said to "Go into all the world and preach the good news" (Mark 16:15, NIV), He wasn't talking just to pastors, or teachers, or evangelists. He was talking to every believer—no matter what their age, skills, nationality, education, back ground, or gender.
Did you know?
- The scope of Sow 1 Billion is unprecedented. A mere 1 percent response rate will result in 10 million requests for Bible studies.
- If all the Sow 1 Billion brochures were laid end to end they would cover a distance of more than 72,000 miles— enough to circle the globe three times.
- The World Health Organization estimates that an average of 4.2 people live in each house of the world. Therefore, potential coverage of these Bible study invitations could reach more than 66 per cent of the world's households.
Asia
- Adventists in Korea have reported that, with 2 million brochures already distributed, they already have 40,000 new Bible studies as a result of Sow 1 Billion. They plan to distribute a further 28 million invitations.
- In the first week of December 2003, Adventists in Japan ran Sow 1 Billion Bible study invitations in 14 national newspapers, including two that were exclusively for children and teens. This was the first time in Japan that a potential reading audience of 35 million had ever seen a message from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The 15,000 church members in Japan are also hand-distributing 5 million brochures. The union's 140 church-based Bible schools are rushing to meet the rising demand for Bible lessons. There has been an 800 percent increase in the requests for Bible lessons when compared to this time last year.
- Earlier this year, the 400 church members in Mongolia, all relatively new Adventists, began working toward their goal of placing a Bible study invitation leaflet in every gur, or traditional round canvas-covered house, in the country.
- Results are coming in from Taiwan, where Adventists are distributing 8 million Bible study invitations—an extraordinary goal considering there are only 4,000 church members. Half a million invitations have been distributed since September, and already 380 people are taking Bible studies as a result. If this response rate continues, there will be more people taking Bible lessons than there are members in this territory.
- Adventists in the South Asia-Pacific region are well on the way to meeting their goal of 95 million brochures and are finding creative ways to draw attention to the effort. For an entire week in mid-September, every employee of the South Philippine Union—including janitors, secretaries, department heads, and the president—visited 20 major cities and distributed 500,000 Sow 1 Billion brochures. They joined with lay people and held parades through main streets while teams of young people handed out brochures to office workers.
Inter-America and South America
- With a combined goal of 226 million brochures, Adventists in Inter-America and South America have taken the Sow 1 Billion challenge to heart.
- A quarter of a million Adventists in South America are currently involved in distributing Bible study invitations. In Brazil, one congregation received 369 Bible study interests from just one Sabbath afternoon effort.
- On the first Sabbath in November on the Caribbean island of Grenada, all church members joined together to dis-tribute Sow 1 Billion invitations. Across the island, they handed out 60,000 brochures in one afternoon. They visit ed almost every home on the island.
Africa
- Early data from East Central Africa shows that there has been an average response rate of 20 percent in each region, with one country—Burundi— showing a 41 percent response rate.
- In Kenya alone some 400,000 people have requested Bible studies; 2,572 people have already been baptized as a direct result of the Sow 1 Billion effort.
- In Africa, the biggest challenge is finding the resources for following up Bible study requests. These divisions are unique in that, where some western countries will be very happy with a 1 or 2 percent response rate, they project a 30 or 40 percent response rate in some areas. There is a need to find innovative approaches to giving Bible studies, with an emphasis on small group studies rather than individual correspondence lessons. Voice of Prophecy and other groups are also working to help provide alternate, low-cost Bible study resources.
Europe
- Secularism and postmodernism pose extra difficulties for 5ow 1 Billion in Europe. Coordinators in Norway, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, the Netherlands, Romania, and other European countries have planned their Sow 1 Billion efforts with these challenges in mind.
- In Poland, for instance, the Sow 1 Billion brochure features nationally known celebrities, including an actor and a musician—both Adventist Church members—who explain how the Bible has changed their lives.
Euro-Asia
- Adventists in Euro-Asia were not content with their original goal of 22 million brochures and are printing million brochures in nine languages. Their goal is to have each brochure personally hand-delivered, and they are combining Sow 1 Billion with their already strong small group movement.
- In the Ukrainian city of Chernovtsy, 150 people—mainly young people—were baptized in June because they responded to a Sow 1 Billion invitation to study the Bible.
South Pacific
- In the South Pacific, the Sow 1 Billion goal is 6 million Bible study invitations. They began handing out their "Try Jesus" cards in March and are combining this effort with television advertising in some areas, along with a special video offer. Already the Bible Correspondence School in Sydney is reporting a steep increase in requests for Bible studies.
North America
- North America has set a combined goal of almost 26 million brochures. Church leaders say they are pleased by the enthusiasm with which the effort is being taken up. The church in Quebec, Canada, was assigned 100,000 cards but has requested 1 million in French and 200,000 in English. The church in Alaska, with a membership of just over 3,500, is distributing 214,000 cards.
- The Voice of Prophecy Bible School, which is acting as a clearing house for Sow 1 Billion responses for some conferences, reports that by the end of July, they had already received 17,262 requests for Bible studies.
