About Us and What We Do

Who is IBS-STL Global?

• IBS-STL is one of the largest Bible and Christian literature ministries in the world.
• We’re the translation sponsor of the English-language New International Version (NIV) of the Bible, the most widely read contemporary English translation.
• We translate the Bible into world languages that have 1 million or more speakers.
• We distribute the Bible—and evangelism and discipleship literature—to people who might never learn about Christ any other way.

I’ve never heard of IBS-STL. How long have you been around?

• IBS-STL Global is a newly merged organization.
• IBS stands for International Bible Society, which has been translating and distributing the Bible for 200 years.
• STL stands for Send the Light, which in 50 years has grown to be the world’s largest Christian distributor of Christian products.
• The two ministries merged in 2007.

Are there still languages that don’t have the Bible?

• There are about 6,500 languages in the world.
• More than 4,000 languages don’t have any of the Bible translated—representing about 350 million people.
• IBS-STL specializes in translating the Bible into languages with 1 million or more speakers.
• We also retranslate the Bible in languages where there’s an old translation that people can’t understand any more.
• It takes about eight years to translate a New Testament; about 12 years to translate the full Bible.
• Right now, IBS-STL has 200 full- and part-time Bible translators working in 42 languages.

How are you different from Wycliffe Bible Translators?

• Wycliffe specializes in translating the Bible for small language groups.
• IBS-STL specializes in translating the Bible for languages of 1 million or more speakers.

How do you get the Bible into people’s hands?

• IBS-STL is known for reaching people “where they are.” First, that means reaching them geographically. We have 50 major Scripture outreach projects in 65 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America.

• Reaching people where they are also means where they are emotionally and spiritually. We put the Bible and the message of the gospel in many different formats that draw people’s interest and attention.
• We use print, audio, video, and the Internet to reach the literate, the non-literate, and the cyber-literate.
• We develop Scripture products that address special circumstances—like the needs of victims of crises and disasters, military personnel and families, prisoners, and others.
• We cooperate with hundreds of like-minded ministries around the world to put the Bible into people’s hands.

What kinds of ministry does IBS-STL do around the world?

• Reach 4 Life (R4L) is our biblical HIV/AIDS prevention program. It began in South Africa and has spread to other African countries (Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, Rwanda), and to Latin America, Thailand, the Caribbean, and India.
• Children 4 Christ (C4C) shares the gospel with children in Europe, Asia and Africa and equips rural churches to minister to village children and families.
• IBS-STL is a groundbreaker in taking God’s Word into school classrooms. We’ve distributed more than 1 million Gospels of Mark in India’s schools. Other school outreaches are in Thailand, United Kingdom, and Eastern Europe.
• We’ve provided more than 2 millions Scripture pieces to victims of crises and disasters around the world.
• Our dramatized audio Scriptures overcome obstacles like illiteracy, poverty, geographic isolation, and government restriction. Audio Scriptures are a powerful way to evangelize new populations and disciple believers.
• In parts of the world where there’s no formal Christian training or education, we provide leaders with Bibles, study resources, and sound, Bible-based training.
• Our special Bibles for military personnel and their families are distributed through military chaplains in the U.S. and abroad.

Our Vision: To get God’s Word into the hands of more people, in more countries, more efficiently, so they may become disciples of Jesus Christ.

IBS-STL Global is a non-profit organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Visit us online at www.ibs.org, www.stlusa.org, www.stl-distribution.com.