WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention, through its Bold Mission Thrust, earnestly seeks to share God’s Word with every man, woman and child everywhere; and
WHEREAS, The American Bible Society is celebrating its 175th Anniversary and continues to carry out its only purpose of translating, publishing and distributing the Word of God without doctrinal note or comment and without profit; and
WHEREAS, The American Bible Society has shared 5,868,597,929 Scriptures since their founding in 1816; and
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have given financial support in the amount of $9,620,835 since 1919; and
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists and the American Bible Society have enjoyed a fruitful sharing of information and resources toward the establishment of a Bible press in the People’s Republic of China, which has now produced more than 3,000,000 Bibles for Chinese Christians and others; and
WHEREAS, The partnership of the American Bible Society and Southern Baptists led to the successful distribution of Scripture portions in Uganda for people who have contracted the tragic disease of AIDS and those who care for the patients; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptists have worked closely with the American Bible Society in response to the extraordinary opportunity for sharing Scriptures in the USSR and Central/Eastern Europe that has never in living memory been greater or more urgent; and
WHEREAS, The American Bible Society has consistently provided Scripture resources in many languages to support our Home Mission Board ministries, and provided several specific language Scriptures for, “Here’s Hope; Jesus Cares For You”, the 1990 simultaneous revival emphasis; and
WHEREAS, The American Bible Society’s effective partnership with Baptist state conventions has resourced Scripture projects in evangelism, literacy missions, prisons, migrants, seamen’s ministries, and has extended this partnership to the Baptist associations in their ministries; and
WHEREAS, The American Bible Society has committed to resource language Scriptures for the evangelistic language Scripture distribution project of the Home Mission Board in 1991; Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That the Southern Baptist Convention congratulates the American Bible Society on the occasion of its 175th Anniversary and express grateful appreciation to God for the Bible ministry of the American Bible Society; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we encourage all Southern Baptist churches to observe American Bible Society Sunday, November 17, 1991, and continually to uphold the American Bible Society in earnest prayer.