Merry Christmas, friends of the Digital Bible Society! Thank you for your prayers and support this year. May the peace of Christ be in your hearts as you celebrate the love of God in the birth of Jesus.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

It’s been five years now since the Digital Bible Society was born! Years of hard work and God’s gracious providence have yielded significant benefits:

• A Chinese Christian library that is impacting many lives (Feedback available on our website)
• A trusted name in the Chinese Missions Community
• Distribution relationships to channel resources, potentially by the millions
• Opportunities to serve with the development of resources for the Beijing Olympics
• Permission for literally hundreds of digital resources for the Arabic community

Because we freely distribute material in bulk, and because our products have a respected reputation for excellence, you might assume we are independently wealthy. I wish this were true! Unlike Bible societies that generate operating revenue from sales of Bibles and resources, we operate entirely on the goodwill of others.

You may hear numerous requests for support in December; we don’t want to add a burden. But as many of you are looking for year-end giving opportunities, I pray that you would consider this ministry. With additional financing, we could easily complete an extremely high-quality Arabic Christian library by the third quarter of 2006. Without this, the task may take years.

Thank you for allowing me to share where we’re at in this newsletter. As always, we welcome your thoughts & suggestions and covet your prayers.
Yours in Christ for the persecuted church,

Ken Allen
Executive Director, DBS

Two weeks ago we sent out a request for feedback on the content of Chinese Treasures 3.2. A heart-felt thanks to all who took the time to contribute their thoughts and comments. You can read the comments and our responses by clicking here. We’re listening to you!

“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Prov. 11:14 (NKJ)

We’re putting together CDs for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry. Chinese Treasures 3.2 will be given to 2000 international students in California! Pray that God uses the CDs to reach these students’ hearts and draw them to Himself!

We’ve been encouraged by some requests for CDs from missionaries in Ontario, Canada. One man will be going on a trip to China in February – he’s taking 50 CDs along to give to those who need them. A couple that has started a street ministry in the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown is planning to give the CDs away this Christmas to the many Chinese people they are ministering to. Please pray for these ventures!

By God's Grace, we have produced and distributed nearly 20,000 CDs this year, mostly with the help of volunteers and your donations! Thank you! In 2005, we received approximately:

$19,500 in total check donations
$5110 ($14 worth a day) in online donations with CD orders
$2555 ($7 a day) in straight online donations.

TOTAL: $27,165 *

We give God praise and thanks for these donations!

However, our distribution growth means we can no longer operate solely on the strength of volunteers. Our directors and board members do not receive a salary (myself included), but we have hired two full-time helpers: Dean, our distribution manager and Kirsten, who is working on communications. (Our office space and computer servers are graciously donated). Even though this amount is smaller than the operating costs of most churches, it is quite a financial hurdle for us.

Our budget for employees and operating expenses is now $5000 per month, or $60,000 per year. Since we received less than half that amount this year, we know we need to pray and ask God to send generous donors who will help us continue the work He wants to do through DBS.

Please consider helping with monthly donations or one-time gifts. (We will not subscribe to professional fund-raising tactics.) Thank you so much!

* We’re in the process of preparing monthly financial reports. This requires manpower and time to keep a careful account of each dollar, but we want to be accountable to you, our supporters. Thank you for your patience as we grow - please pray for us! Thank you!

In November, we began asking people who have shown an interest in this ministry to be a part of a weekly prayer team. We thank God for these prayer warriors and encouragers who lift us up in prayer each week. They live in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and all across the USA—even OHIO! Each week they receive a short email detailing our prayer praises and concerns.
Would you like to be a part of this? email kirsten@digitalbiblesociety.org

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! Psalm 66:20

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

Please join us in prayer for:
Cori, Judy, Ryan and Moira - thank you God for their faithful volunteering
Missionaries to China and Taiwan, Mark L. and Xiao Yang, as well as others who are spreading the good news of Christ’s love. Please strengthen and encourage them as they celebrate Christmas, often far from family.