Interact January 2021

Bible Resource ANATOMY OF A

Words Steve Bassett

“Our challenge is always to tell the story in a way that resonates with the times”

When William Walters founded Scripture Gift Mission in 1888, he believed that a proffered gift of an attractively produced copy of one of the Gospels, with a “winsome word of testimony”, was a sure means of evangelism. This combination of outreach, Scripture and artistic excellence has continued through to today, 133 years later.

Formats and technologies may have changed, but the anatomy of each Lifewords resource still contains the same DNA, namely: the Bible’s own words set in an aesthetic framing; a resonance with readers’ lives; a resource that is released, freely, into a contemporary context, providing ways into Scripture for all people.

RESONATING WITH THE TIMES To explore how this tradition plays out today, let’s consider our newest Bible booklet, The True Light, released across the UK and beyond throughout advent 2020. Creating a Christmas resource in the context of a global pandemic was not easy, but our challenge is always to tell the story in a way that resonates with the times. Advent loomed in a world where for many, there would be an empty chair at the Christmas dinner table;

or exhaustion from fighting for justice to prevail, or from working flat-out to comfort the sick 24/7. A world where people were locked down, their mental health suffering; where pressures on the economy, stress on the NHS and essential workers, and fear among the most vulnerable all added to the feeling that this was a haunted festive season, a Christmas unlike any other.

This was the context where the Bible’s message of goodwill to all and peace on earth needed to resonate.

In line with Walter’s vision for people to connect with the Bible’s message, we worked on both a physical booklet and an online format, inviting people to reflect – and journal – on where “the true light” would find them. On a local church level, it needed “shareability” online and in real life, as much as might be possible with Covid-19 restrictions. And, it

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