Rev Dirk Gevers, the current Chief Executive Officer of the Bible Society of South Africa (BSSA,) was appointed as the new Secretary General of United Bible Societies (UBS), a worldwide network of Bible Societies operating in over 240 countries and territories, to succeed Michael Perreau on his retirement later this year. He is the first Bible Society official from Africa to have been appointed in this role.

Two sisters, Lynsey and Suzann Knoetzen, determined to “find themselves” on a recent holiday rediscovered the Bible instead. It changed their lives – and now they want to help to change the lives of others in Africa too. Lynsey enthused, “While we studied the Bible, something just clicked in my mind. I realised that it was what I was missing in my life. I had this overwhelming feeling that everyone needed to know about this. The Word had to get out!”

It’s Word Riders time again: when bikers boldly tackle rough terrain for Bibles – this time in the southern parts of the Eastern Cape. The group of 59 people comprising 37 motorbikes in support of the project, Bibles for Grade 7 learners, left Port Elizabeth on 7 April. Some of the towns that the group will visit include Humansdorp, Willowmore, Uniondale, Aberdeen and Graaff-Reinet.

For many years the Bible Society of South Africa has had a long-standing relationship with the armed forces. Members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have been using New Testaments and Bibles distributed by Bible Society since 1940. One such example is a small Testament with a wooden cover printed in 1943, with a message from England’s King George VI as well as a handwritten message from the then Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, General Jan Smuts.

On 9 February 2017, two Bible-based literacy booklets will appear in isiZulu for the first time. The Bible Society of South Africa is launching its literacy material at the Power of God Community Church in Embo near Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal. The event will start at 10:00. The event will be attended by members of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, the Department of Arts and Culture, as well as various church and community leaders.

The Afrikaans Bible in braille commemorates its 75th anniversary this year. Just eight years after the first complete Bible in Afrikaans was published in 1933, the first Afrikaans Bible in braille was published on 21 October 1941. The Afrikaans was only the fourth language worldwide to receive a complete braille Bible. At that stage, only English, German and French had complete braille Bibles available. Today, 44 of approximately 6 887 languages worldwide, have full braille Bibles available.

According to recent research, the Bible remains relevant to most Christians in South Africa. On the scale of one to 10, where 10 represents most relevant, the findings show that 64,9% of respondents rated the importance of the Bible in their lives between 8 and 10. This research shows that 68,8% of the South African population, 15 years and older, belongs to the Christian faith. The Bible is thus relevant for millions of South Africans.

More than 23 million Bibles are needed in South Africa, according to recent research conducted by the research company Ipsos. Some 44% of South African Christian households indicated that they did not need additional Bibles, whilst 46,7% still need between one and three Bibles for members of their household. According to this research 68,8% of the South African population that are 15 years and older belong to the Christian faith. Just over a quarter of the population (25,4%) who are 15 years and older, do not belong to any religious group.