New Bibles-to-troops effort kicks off

Written by Eric Tiansay

Monday, 15 June 2009 02:07 PM America/New_York

Capitalizing on the success of the campaign to send the special-edition Operation Worship Bible-NLT (New Living Translation) to American military personnel last year, Tyndale House Publishers is releasing four new versions-one for each branch of the U.S. military--as part of new effort to draw customers to Christian bookstores.

Each edition bears the distinctive camouflage binding of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. More than 300,000 Operation Worship Bible-NLT were purchased and distributed in 2008, when CBA, K-LOVE Radio Network and Tyndale joined forces to provide free copies of the Bible to U.S. troops stationed around the world. The goal this year is to provide 500,000 copies to military personnel by Christmas, Tyndale officials said.

"The Operation Worship campaign captured the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of people eager to reach out to our nation's military with the Word of God and to express their appreciation for the sacrifice these young men and women are making on our behalf," said Blaine Smith, associate publisher for Tyndale.

The Operation Worship-NLT has been ranked in the top 10 best-seller lists of CBA and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.