Publishers in two European countries each with a rich Bible heritage are involved in campaigns to encourage more reading of the Scriptures.

In Germany, a new magazine aims to address what it considers a growing lack of knowledge of the Bible, while in England two, year-long efforts have been launched to spur Christians to get to know God's Word better.

Faszination Bibel (Fascination Bible) was debuted in October by leading Christian magazine publisher Bundes-Verlag, part of SCM (Stiffung Christliche Medien), a nonprofit Christian foundation based in Witten, Germany—home to the groundbreaking 1454 Gutenberg Bible, the first to be printed using movable type.

More than 230,000 copies of the free, 100-page issue—with the tag line "Learn to love the Bible"—were distributed to churches and Christian organizations in Germany and neighboring Switzerland. It featured articles on archaeology and the Bible in church history, personal Bible reading experiences and study advice.

The company found a high stated love of the Bible, but "low love and real hunger for reading and living by it," said CEO Ulrich Eggers. "There was a growing lack of knowledge within large parts of the church. Somebody had to do something—so we started Faszination Bibel to try to make it interesting."

In England, more than a dozen publishers are among 100 Christian organizations backing Biblefresh, launched to mark the 400th anniversary of the country's famous King James Bible.

The initiative follows research by the Evangelical Alliance in the U.K. that found "worrying" low levels of biblical knowledge and understanding. Congregations signing up for Biblefresh are being asked to raise their level of involvement with the Bible in reading, training, translation and resulting action.

As part of the campaign, Authentic Media published Biblefresh, a 144-page, magazine-style book with the tag line, "It could change your world."

Read the full report in the January 2011 issue of Christian Retailing magazine.

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