STEINBACH, MB—Canadian LifeLight Ministries is strengthening its long-time working relationship with International Bible Society (IBS), based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The agreement signed in February firmly establishes LifeLight as the Canadian distribution agent for the large international Bible distributor. While LifeLight has had an ongoing association with IBS for ten years in a ministry capacity, the new agreement makes the relationship official, says LifeLight president Raymond Dueck. LifeLight already had access to the full catalogue offered by IBS but will now be ordering in larger volumes and at a lower price.
IBS is also pleased. “At the core of our ministries’ heart's is the desire to distribute God’s Word and Scripture tools to more people so that they might have the opportunity to become disciples of Jesus Christ— growing, maturing and sharing their faith with others,” says IBS director Robert Swales. “I am so pleased we have this special ministry relationship with LifeLight Ministries. May God’s kingdom grow and be enhanced through our combined efforts of Scripture distribution!”
Bolstered by the distribution agreement with IBS, LifeLight plans to set up more distribution centres across Canada. “We aim to have representation in every major city in Canada over the next five years,” says Dueck. Currently, LifeLight has representatives in Manitoba, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes.
LifeLight is a not-for profit ministry, inspired by International Bible Givers in the U.S., which distributes free Bibles. “We give away Scriptures as God provides funds, “says Dueck. Specific Bible funds are set up to cater to particular areas of need or to provide ministries with a bank of Scriptures to draw on. Bibles are made available from the fund as donations enable their purchase from suppliers. LifeLight holds a number of ministry accounts, one of which is devoted to providing Scriptures for prisons.
In March 2007, the nearly 200-year-old IBS merged with Send the Light of England, one of the world’s largest distributors of Christian literature. This combination of organizations brings together “core competencies of Bible translation, Bible and Christian book publishing and global distribution into one of the largest and most far-reaching Christian literature agencies in the world.”
