In an unprecedented move, churches are being called on to give up their Bibles on 16th May as part of ‘No Bible Sunday? This new international event challenges people to remember how much they love the Bible by trying to hold just one church service without it. Churches in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and from as far away as Canada, Kenya, South Africa and Australia are expected to take part.

In giving up their Bibles, churches will be joining with people from 2,700 language groups who do not have access to a Bible in their mother tongue. For the hundreds of millions who speak these languages, every day is a No Bible day.

"I can understand French with my ear, and Swahili with mind, but my own language I understand with my heart," Pastor in the Democratic Republic of Congo confesses. It is always best to receive the word of God in mother language.

The Bible is the most direct way Christians can hear the word of God and know about Him, as an old praise song says “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.?The Bible records the history of Jesus and his disciples?footsteps, and no other book can speak more powerfully about what kind of life a Christian should pursue more than the Bible.

"No Bible Sunday is to remind us in the church - no Bible, no life!" Mark Brown, Granshaw Presbyterian Church truthfully tells us. No Bible Sunday will help the church to fully realise this fact, and will also challenge people to value and read the Bible.

No Bible Sunday is being sponsored by Wycliffe Bible Translators, the world's leading Bible translation organisation. "We hope that No Bible Sunday will help Christians in the UK appreciate and value the feast of resources God has provided us with from his word. Many groups only have crumbs to feed from," explains Geoff Knott, Executive Director of Wycliffe UK. "We are doing this because we love the Bible too!"

Church leaders, who are only too aware of the decrease in Bible use over recent years, have reacted positively. "No Bible Sunday presents a significant challenge to spoilt Christians in the West who treat Bibles as expensive ornaments," states David McMillan of Windsor Baptist Church, Belfast.

"No Bible Sunday opens up a whole new world - real people, real places, real need... real opportunity," commented Niall Lockhart, Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church, Bangor, Northern Ireland.

All churches can choose to participate in No Bible Sunday. Resources such as suggested service procedures without a Bible, and speech for No Bible Sunday are offered free of charge on the event’s official website: www.nobiblesunday.org.