In Their Words: The Need for Bibles in South African Communities

Three Snapshots from Three Communities

Pastors Mark Penrith, Trent Eayrs, and Alfonso Veropen all live in different communities across South Africa. They serve in three major cities across the diverse country: Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. We asked each to provide a snapshot of their communities where they live, serve, and pastor. As we heard about their various contexts, it became clear that although each community has its own unique challenges, they all share one urgent need—access to Bibles.

Through the One Million Bibles Initiative, these pastors received much-needed Bibles to distribute to those in their communities who had never owned a copy before. Hear these pastors in their own words as they share about the struggles their communities face, why Bibles are difficult to obtain, and the impact of gaining access to God’s Word.

Donate $4 to Give a Bible

Crossway is providing Bibles to one million believers in need around the world. Join us in this effort to help provide a Bible to someone who has never had the opportunity to own their own copy. Would you consider partnering with us? Learn More.

A Picture of Johannesburg

Pastor Mark Penrith lives near Johannesburg, a landlocked city in the northeast of South Africa. He provides a more detailed understanding of this part of the country, his specific community, and their need for the Bible.

Can you share about yourself?

I am a pastor at Benoni Baptist Church, which is really close to the major international airport in Johannesburg. I’m responsible for preaching and leadership development—setting the vision of the church. I am involved in shepherding and in oversight of the congregation.

Can you talk about where you live?

A typical township setting in South Africa would include a diverse array of living conditions, right from squatter camps all the way through to bonded houses and different socioeconomic groups. Rural areas typically are far outside of the city. They have poor access to social services and are very poor in the South African context.

How would you describe your community’s access to Bibles?

South Africa is a country of two distinct halves and part of the country is first world and the other part of the country is third world. When resources come into contact with the local congregation, I’m talking about quality resources—quality Bibles and study Bibles that people can use—these would be [otherwise] absolutely unattainable for the people that are receiving them. The truth is, they wouldn’t be able to purchase or procure those Bibles, because they have no access to the means of even finding a shop to buy them at, let alone [purchase one] online.

In the other environment in South Africa, the first world environment, the truth is, whilst people have access to resources, they are relatively unaffordable to most members in the church. And so what you have is people in good churches that are growing and have expository preaching but don’t have access to resources like a study Bible where they can test what they are hearing by God’s Word, where they can appropriate God’s Word, understand God’s Word themselves and grow in both their knowledge and their love for the Word. And so resources like study Bibles have been valuable in both the suburban contexts and in the rural and township contexts in our country.

Why are Bibles important for the people of South Africa?

Two reasons spring to mind. The first is the gospel. Christianity is very broad in South Africa, but the gospel isn’t preached with a clarion bell. So while a lot of people claim the name of Christ, not as many people actually know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. And so as the Bibles are going out, so too is the gospel. And the gospel has been put into the hands of faithful pastors who then pass it on to congregations.

And that comes to the second reason why the Bibles are so important and that’s the strengthening of local churches. The church rises and falls on the Word of God. And so, as the Word is getting to local churches, the church has been strengthened. And that’s a delight to see.

A Picture of Durban

Roughly seven hours away from Johannesburg, near the southeast coast of South Africa, is the city of Durban where pastor Trent Eayrs shepherds his community alongside his father, Trevor Eayrs. He shares about the diversity within Durban and why his village needs Bibles.

Can you tell us about yourself and your community?

I was born and raised here and had the privilege of attending a seminary overseas in America. I came to faith young, grew up in a pastoral home, and so was exposed to the gospel very young. I have one of those milestone testimonies, where in various milestones in my life, I rededicated my life to the Lord. I experienced the call to ministry out of the construction industry. I was working in construction, and over a period of time, the Lord just impressed on my heart the need to build churches out of people, not out of bricks and cement.

I have been serving in South Africa for about twenty years in ministry and fourteen of those married, and we have three children. And we’re serving here in Kloof, which is a little village just outside of the city of Durban on the road toward Johannesburg. And I’ve been there in that church for just about seven years. [Where I live is] so diverse. We’ve got wealthy South Africa in the city and around the cities. One of the most affluent areas—Ballito—is found just a few kilometers south of [where I am]. But just kilometers away, there are very, very rural and remote areas. So the spectrum is very diverse. There is not a whole lot of education in the rural areas, but it is improving. So we are blessed to be part of an increase in the knowledge of English as a language for communication.

Can you talk about access to resources and the impact of receiving Bibles?

I can’t imagine that many individuals could afford to buy a Bible in rural to remote communities.

The impact [of received Bibles has] been very big. We’ve used certain resources which combine the Scriptures with a way of salvation, for example. And that’s always helpful as well, where the tool itself can be used on its own, and that means we can leave a tool in somebody’s hand and allow it to do its work almost by itself.

A Picture of Cape Town

Pastor Alfonso Veropen resides nearly 800 miles away from Trent Ayers near Cape Town, on South Africa’s southwestern coast. Cape Town is a popular destination for tourism, but through pastor Alfonso we get a glimpse into the harsh realities of the suburbs surrounding the second largest city in South Africa.

Can you share about your community?

I’m pastoring a church where I have been for about eight years. It started off as revitalization work—our community is saturated with lots of word of faith and prosperity gospel-type churches and is a very religious community. I saw the need for a Bible-based church. At this stage, I think we are probably the only Bible-based church in our community. And that’s a huge need—we need to come back to the Bible.

Our community is in the heart of the Northern suburbs. It’s a middle- to lower-class income group, [with] lots of blue-collar workers in that community. [There are] drugs, some social ills, and unemployment is quite huge. There’s lots of vandalism. . . lots of unemployed people walking around aimlessly in our community. It is important that we bring people back to the Word of God. It’s important that we show them that we are a beacon of hope amidst all of the strife and the problems that we face as communities.

Are the people in your community able to access Bibles?

Not really. In our community, we have a church, in fact, they call themselves a church but it’s a cult. They are not allowed to have Bibles with them [at church]. One of our outreaches is to go out and engage those kinds of people and to have a Bible in hand would be a wonderful tool to get them out of that darkness that they are in. Bibles are accessible but generally very expensive, and in our community, it would be nice to put a Bible into people’s hands, especially in our congregation.

Looking at the Larger Picture

In describing their communities, pastors Penrith, Eayrs, and Veropen all touch on a need that spans not only South Africa, but indeed the Global South—many people can’t access or afford Bibles. As these men explain, it is vital that church leaders and believers around the world have their own copy of God’s Word. Access to Bibles will help communities and congregations grow in the knowledge and understanding of God and strengthen the church against false teaching.

Would you prayerfully consider linking arms with us to help spread the good news? We hope to reach our goal of funding the distribution of one million Bibles by December 31. $10 could provide 2 Bibles to believers who otherwise have no way of accessing the Word. A generous donor has agreed to match donations, dollar for dollar, up to $250,000, which means your donation will have double the impact. We hope that you will partner with us to provide God’s Word where it’s needed most.

Please pray for pastors Mark Penrith, Trent Eayrs, and Alfonso Veropen and their ministry in South Africa. Pray for the Lord’s guidance and that these men would be a light to their communities.

Please pray for the safe arrival and distribution of Bibles from the One Million Bibles Initiative that have been shipped and are en route to their destinations. Pray that God would work through these Bibles to transform the lives of those who receive them.