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December 2012 Newsletter

Merry Christmas

Many of us have a tendency to look backward during the Christmas season. We remember the traditions we have followed since we were kids. We look back to a time very different from our own when a God was born in a manger.  When Jesus came to us in Bethlehem, He came to show us how to live and to set us free from the penalty of our sins. When He comes again, it will be to forever remove sin, death and the devil. Let the joy of the season of His first advent direct our hearts to yearn for His second advent.

“Hear the angels, as they’re singing
On the morning of His birth!
But how much greater will our song be
When He comes again to earth!”

Merry Christmas, from Bible.org

 

A Word of Appreciation

As this year comes to a close, so too does David Austin’s service as Executive Director of Bible.org. Dave has contributed to Bible.org in various ways over a number of years, and most recently as our executive director. Under his leadership Bible.org has grown in size, in financial stability, and in its worldwide impact. Retiring early from his federal government service Dave has devoted countless hours to utilizing technology such as the Internet and mobile devices to proclaim the gospel and to assist the church in building up disciples who bear fruit for eternity. Dave is a man of vision and great passion. He steps aside as executive director of Bible.org to pursue and promote special projects for the organization. We are grateful for Dave’s dedication and years of tireless service.

Dave’s wife Gaye has also faithfully served alongside him at Bible.org, drawing upon her years of experience as a school teacher, teacher of Precept classes, and discussion leader for Bible Study Fellowship. Among other things, Gaye served bible.org as the volunteer coordinator, newsletter and blog writer, and tutor.

We give thanks to God for Dave and Gaye, and we pray that their fruitfulness will increase as they continue to focus on serving God through Bible.org in new ways.

 

2012 Milestones

This has been a year of growth for Bible.org. Thank you to everyone of you who has donated, translated, tweeted, and shared our resources!

  • Improved search on Bible.org
  • The NET Bible is now on BibleGateway
  • The ESV is now in the NET Bible Study Environment
  • Started the NET Bible Facebook page which now reaches 900 people
  • 1,178 of articles translated into 36 languages
  • 173,000 people follow our posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
  • 72,450 - set a record high daily pageviews in November.
  • 3.3 million  record high pageviews in a single month (November
  • 6.7 million visitors from outside the United States
  • 151,000 downloads of the NET Bible
  • 33.9 million pageviews this year (18% increase over 2011)
  • 13.1 million unique visitors from 226 countries and territories (32% increase in unique visitors over 2011)

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5 Most Active Pages of 2012

#1 - Sample Marriage Vows, Sample Wedding Vows
#2 - Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective
#3 - Speaking in Tongues
#4 - The Names of God
#5 - God's Plan of Salvation

 

Seminary Blogs Feed

What topics are professors and students discussing today that will be issues in your congregation or small groups later on? We’ve added a new feature to our blogs to help you keep up to date with the discussions in the Christian academic world. The first seminary blogs come from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Seminary, Talbot School of Theology, and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. We’ll be adding more to the list in the future to give you a greater overview the topics being discussed among various seminaries.

 

Suggested Resources for Christmas

God’s Christmas Tree - http://bible.org/article/gods-christmas-tree
The Twelve Ways of Christmas - http://bible.org/article/storytelling-twelve-ways-christmas
Christmas Envelopes - http://bible.org/article/christmas-envelopes

 

How has Bible.org Blessed You?

“I love the NET Bible!!  It has drawn me to read the Bible more than I did before and it's more alive and vibrant than my other translations.”

“Thank You so much for your excellent service to all of God's people in our pursuit to finish the Great Commission! May God richly bless you!”

How has Bible.org blessed you this year? Let us know! Send us a Facebook Message, a Tweet, or send us a message.

 

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