Despite new figures showing a worldwide decline in Scripture distribution, the Bible Society NSW says it is experiencing an upward trend of people keen to receive God's word.
The United Bible Societies recorded a 10 per cent drop (41.2million) in Scripture distribution in 2004 compared to 2003.
Over 390 million Scriptures were distributed in 2004 compared to the previous year of more than 430 million.
In 2003 the distribution rate had fallen by more than 25 per cent compared to 2002 (578 million).
Bible Society NSW Communications Manager Martin Johnson says the exact cause is impossible to determine given the large scale of distribution work.
Worldwide there are 141 Bible Societies or offices in more than 200 countries and territories.
According to the latest figures the Bible Societies in the Americas were the most successful distributors with 273million Scriptures handed out last year.
"There has been a downturn, but it's difficult to give a reason," Mr Johnson says.
"We're not too concerned about it. My assumption would be that it is due to variations in publishing strategies in Bible Societies around the world."
He notes that current worldwide figures for 2005 point to an increase in Bible distribution compared to last year.
Mr Johnson says the drop is no cause for alarm, with Western countries like Australia and the United Kingdom using a whole range of new strategies to engage younger generations with God's word.
One example is a new DVD, "The Bible: Alive and Active' that is being offered to every primary school in NSW.
Another is the "Jesus: All About Life' prime time TV campaign that is set to run in Adelaide and Canberra this year.
Meanwhile the Bible Society in New Zealand report that production of pocket-sized Bibles in China in 2004 exceeded that of the standard-sized Bible by 500,000 copies, due to increasing demand from young Chinese.
Ten thousand copies of a CD-ROM version of a Chinese-English Bible will be also distributed in 2005.
It is the first legally approved and locally produced CD-ROM Bible in that country.
More information is available through the The Bible Society website and the website for The Bible Society NSW.
