Biblefresh

Biblefresh is an initiative of the Evangelical Alliance and about 50 UK agencies to promote a new appetite for the Bible in the Christian community and to bring the Bible to our world in new ways as we approach the 400th Anniversary of the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible in 2011. 

Biblefresh has four main tracks:-
     Bible Reading – to inspire Christians to read the Bible more
     Bible Training – to equip Christians to handle the Bible more effectively
     Bible Translation – to promote giving for Bible translation projects
     Bible Experiences – to use creative means to make the Bible relevant today

The Biblefresh Handbook, available from re:fresh books & christian resources, is a 144-page resource offering a potpourri of articles, practical ideas, background information, and inspirational testimonies and stories from a host of well-known Christian writers and leaders.  They include Rob Bell, Andy Croft, Richard Foster, Roger Forster, Stephen Goukroger, Bob Hartman, Greg Haslam, Krish Kandiah, Tim Keller, Eugene Peterson, Vaughan Roberts and John Stott.  In many cases the articles are a precis of books by the authors, for example Amy Orr-Ewing’s Why Trust the Bible, Vaughan Roberts’ God’s Big Picture and Storylines by Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft.

Typical chapters from the Biblefresh Handbook include:-
* The Biblefresh Year by Rob Cotton, which suggests ways in which a church can engage with the Bible in new ways through the year, starting with Advent 2010.
* A concise guide to modern Bible translations by David Dewey backed up by brief statements from 20 Christian leaders on their favourite Bible translation
* A handy guide to different approaches to Bible reading, together with a list of modern Bible reading materials, classified according to the different approaches
* Ten Ideas to “freshen up” personal Bible reading and ten ideas to freshen up church Bible reading by Nigel Beynon and Krish Kandiah respectively
* A comprehensive guide to Bible colleges that offer short-term courses or distance learning courses to deepen students’ understanding of the Scriptures
* Ten ideas to help translate the Bible into our everyday life  and ten Bible experience ideas to help whet other people’s appetite for the Bible so that they want to read it for themselves, both by Krish Kandiah.
Scattered through the handbook are advertisements from publishers and Christian organisations which themselves offer a valuable pointer to Bible-oriented resources.

The Biblefresh Handbook is available from re:fresh books & christian resources, price £5.00.   More information on Biblefresh can be found on http://www.biblefresh.com