An interview with Kurt Johnson, world Bible school coordinator for the GC, and Bible school director for the Voice of Prophecy (VOP) ministry.

We've heard the statistics--if just 0.5 percent of people respond to the Sow 1 Billion leaflets we'll have 5 million requests for Bible studies. What have the Bible correspondence schools been doing to prepare for Sow 1 Billion?
The division personal ministries leaders--who coordinate world Bible schools--met in March last year and implemented a three-step plan for Sow 1 Billion, which I call: Seek, Reap, and Keep.

The Seek portion of the formula includes giving how-to instruction to church members on handing out Sow 1 Billion literature, and strengthening existing Bible correspondence schools. The Reap portion includes giving how-to instruction to church members on giving Bible studies. The Keep includes establishing a Bible study ministry in every church in the world and a Bible correspondence school in every country of the world, as well as translating Bible lessons into as many languages as possible.

You've traveled to many divisions this year and met with Bible school administrators and church leaders. Has enough preparation been done? What are you hearing?
Preparation and implementation are in high gear worldwide. Over the past 18 months the VOP Bible correspondence schools have been translating the Discover Bible guides in more than 50 languages. Divisions have been printing extra quantities of Bible lessons. And there has been increased emphasis on training more church members for involvement in local Bible study ministries.

But there are definitely challenges. The number one need is to find the resources to print more Bible lessons so that everyone who responds to Sow 1 Billion will receive the lessons they request. And some divisions are struggling to find the funds for operation of existing correspondence schools, and starting new ones in countries that currently have none.

Any words for those who are considering becoming involved in Sow 1 Billion and in a local Bible study ministry?
God has provided a window of opportunity for the scattering of literature like the leaves of autumn. Seize the moment. Extra work on everyone's part will make a huge task simple and provide a massive gospel footprint around the world.

The 4,000 Adventist Church members in Taiwan aren't afraid of a challenge. They intend to distribute 8 million Bible study invitations, which means 2,000 leaflets per church member.

"Taiwan is very wealthy; materialism is lord," says Bob Folkenberg, Jr., president of the Taiwan Mission. "It's also a very strong Buddhist, Taoist culture, which makes evangelism difficult."

How can Sow 1 Billion make a difference? "First, it gives every member a simple tool to do something--however small--to spread the gospel to those they come in contact with," explains Folkenberg. "Second, it will provide an invitation to Bible study to millions whom we would never have had a chance to reach any other way."

In 2001, thanks to the support of some committed lay members, there was a mass mailing of Bible study invitations to every home in the Minnesota Conference. William Miller, Minnesota Conference president, shared some thoughts on the impact of this type of outreach: "We received some 7,600 responses for Bible studies," he said. "We mobilized all of our churches to be a part of this. We had as many as 560 responses that were sent to an individual church."

The challenge posed for churches, said Miller, had to do with "getting Bible schools up in all of the churches; making sure all churches were supplied with Bible studies; and training members for visitation."

"The general laity were really excited," Miller says. "This past year at camp meeting we introduced two different couples that had come to the church and been baptized because of the mailout. Also, a Native American and his wife joined the church and want to start a church on their reservation. We haven't had a huge response with baptisms, but the purpose was to begin a process of planting seeds and beginning to get our name out among the public as people who can help make a difference in their lives."

What about the estimated one in six people around the world who can't read or write? What about those areas of the world where there are very few, or no, Adventists who can deliver these Bible study invitations? Can Sow 1 Billion have any impact in these areas?

Adventist World Radio (AWR), the church's international radio network, has developed an innovative approach to help meet some of these challenges. It has produced a series of 30-second radio spots that echo the Sow 1 Billion theme, and which offer a way for listeners to receive Bible studies. These radio spots are being sent to AWR studios around the world for translation into some of the 50 languages in which AWR broadcasts.

The Internet offers a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative for providing Bible studies through more traditional methods--people can log on and fully complete lessons online without the need for postage or teachers to mark paper lessons.

For this reason, a central part of the Sow 1 Billion plan has been the creation of an international Web site to provide access to online Bible studies in many different languages. This Web site--www.hopetalk.org--is now a reality. The site is growing week by week, and the goal is to offer Bible studies in 75 to 100 languages.

Until now, Adventist Bible study resources on the internet have been scattered, with no central repository to draw them all together, explains Sean Carney, president of TAGnet--the lay supporting ministry that is designing and building the site. "The hopetalk.org portal may be our most significant collaboration ever," he says. "It involves all world Bible schools, every division, and many ministries. Through unity in purpose, Bible study resources will be made available to the entire world. The outreach potential is unparalleled."

Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries (ASI) is leading out in the funding and development of this site. The project brings together the combined talents, commitment, and resources of many supporting Bible study ministries, including Voice of Prophecy, Bibleinfo.org, Amazing Facts, It is Written, and others.

Sow 1 Billion is closely tied to two other key initiatives of the world church: Go One Million, and the Year of World Evangelism 2004.

Go One Million is a plan to train and equip 1 million laypeople for evangelism and witness. Many of those who are involved in Go One Million will become local leaders of Sow 1 Billion--helping to encourage and coordinate other laypeople in distributing leaflets and following up with Bible studies.

Year of World Evangelism 2004 is a special year of emphasis on evangelism for the entire Seventh-day Adventist Church. Every institution, every entity, every congregation, every church member, is encouraged to be involved in some form of outreach: whether it's through Sow 1 Billion, Go One Million, planting a new congregation, participating in a local evangelistic series, or giving Bible studies through a Bible school ministry.