GRAND RAPIDS, MI & LINCOLN, NE – July 5, 2023 – Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM), a global nondenominational nonprofit, announced today it has acquired the Center for Bible Engagement (CBE), the research division of Nebraska-based Back to the Bible (BttB). This acquisition further solidifies ODBM’s commitment to Bible engagement and follows the recent absorption of the Bible Literacy Coalition into the ministry.
“The Center for Bible Engagement will help us achieve our goal of creating meaningful spiritual growth journeys as we seek to fuel a global Bible engagement movement,” said Dr. Matt Lucas, president and CEO of ODBM. “We are a ministry with a legacy of helping people grow in their faith through engaging the Bible. This acquisition, building on the great work of BttB, will enable us to serve the global church with researched-informed biblical content and practices.”
Leading up to the acquisition, ODBM partnered with CBE to conduct a comprehensive survey of the spiritual lives of the general population in the United States as well as six other countries. Research findings established a baseline from which to compare ODBM’s constituents — those who read, watch, and listen to its content as well as those following/supporting the ministry. The data and information gleaned by the CBE research revealed the critical factors that significantly impact spiritual growth and a person’s relationship with God. According to Dr. Lucas, ODBM plans on doing many more studies and freely sharing the findings with the global church. “We fully expect that bringing CBE into the ministry will create new and exciting research opportunities, not just for us, but for other Christ-centered entities.”
“The Center for Bible Engagement’s passion has always been developing methods, tools, and resources that will engage people with the Bible and fuel life transformation,” commented Dr. Arnie Cole, BttB’s CEO. “Our Daily Bread Ministries’ acquisition of our Center for Bible Engagement and its intellectual properties guarantees that many people will now be engaging the Bible more.”
Under the leadership of Dr. Lucas, ODBM will work closely with Dr. Cole and BttB to ensure a smooth transition of research methodologies and technologies into the ministry. “We look forward to working together to conduct global studies on trends in Bible engagement and more importantly identify ways to improve motivation and strengthen our content so we can help foster a lifelong love of the Bible,” said Dr. Lucas.
For 85 years, Our Daily Bread Ministries’ mission has been to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all. With the acquisition of the Center for Bible Engagement comes the ability to now apply research-based content strategies and user journeys in pursuit of that goal — helping people grow closer in their relationship to God, become more like Jesus, and respond to God’s Word through the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
About Our Daily Bread Ministries:
Our Daily Bread Ministries is a global ministry with staff and volunteers in 32 offices working together to distribute more than 60 million resources in 150 countries. With more than seven million global social media followers, the ministry also broadcasts podcasts such as God Hears Her, Where Ya From?, and Discover the Word, has a robust YouTube Channel with more than 375,000 subscribers, and offers a learning community via Our Daily Bread University. For 85 years, the ministry’s purpose has remained the same: to reach people with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible. For additional information, visit odb.org.
About the Center for Bible Engagement:
The Center for Bible Engagement (CBE) began in 2003 and has become a major world center addressing Bible engagement and spiritual growth. Since its inception, the CBE has surveyed more than 750,000 people around the world about their spiritual lives. The CBE has partnered with churches and para church organizations such as the American Bible Society, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, National Religious Broadcasters, Nazarene Denomination, the Jamaica Broilers Foundation, McLean Bible Church, Hope Media, Light FM, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, African Strategic Discipleship Movement in order to build an empirical understanding of life transformation through a relationship with Christ and engaging Scripture.
Contact: Londa Alderink, 616.566.4936, londa.alderink@odb.org
