An Update on Crossway in Response to COVID-19

Dear Friend of Crossway,

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantines, and state-mandated lockdowns, we wanted to provide you with a brief update on Crossway’s ministry. The economic downturn and shifting marketplace have impacted our work as an organization and the vast majority of our employees are now working remotely. And yet, despite the challenges and uncertainties of this difficult season, God’s grace and provision abound as we continue to publish gospel-centered books, Bibles, and tracts. Our conviction is that there is a great need for the word of God and gospel-centered publishing, and in recent weeks we have felt a palpable sense of urgency in our labors to provide the church with biblical resources aimed at pointing God’s people to the hope we have in Christ.

One example of that urgent calling has been our recent work with John Piper and Desiring God to expedite the publication of a new book entitled Coronavirus and Christ. The publishing process—which normally takes a year or more—was accomplished in four short weeks, from Pastor John starting the manuscript to its release in print, ebook, and audiobook formats. Crossway and Desiring God are distributing both the ebook and the audiobook for free, and we encourage you to access this timely resource and share it with anyone else who might benefit from it. By God’s grace, hundreds of thousands of people around the world have already listened to and read Coronavirus and Christ in digital form, and there are significant distribution plans to put over 150,000 copies of the print edition into the hands of many more in the coming weeks.

We’re also working with Desiring God and other ministry partners around the world to translate Coronavirus and Christ into twenty languages. As of today, six are currently available, with fourteen more scheduled for release in the coming weeks (view the list). In all of this, it has been a privilege to partner so closely with John Piper and our friends at Desiring God who have poured themselves into this project and made this a significant priority for their ministry during these months.

We are so thankful for you—men and women around the world who support Crossway’s not-for-profit ministry and engage with our content. Many of you have contributed generous gifts to our ministry in the past, and we would once again invite you to consider giving. Under the United States’s recent CARES Act, significant restrictions have been lifted, providing extra tax advantages for donors who make gifts to charitable organizations like Crossway. Your tax-deductible gift will help us continue publishing books, Bibles, and tracts without disruption, and support important ministry opportunities across the globe.

As we reflect on Crossway’s mission and purpose in the midst of so much disruption and suffering, we are reminded of the words of Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” May God’s word continue to go out to the ends of the earth, and may his people be equipped for every good work, to his glory alone. Amen.

Josh Dennis
President and Chief Communications Officer
Crossway