On Tuesday evening, Zondervan celebrated three decades of the best-selling Bible translation with a special reception at Disney's Epcot Center for around 100 people, including retailers, authors, leadership, media and even the area's most popular residents, Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The two iconic characters brought a celebratory cake during the NIV 30th Anniversary Celebration, which included testimonials of the impact of the New International Version through the years.

After arriving at The American Adventure, guests heard from Zondervan President and CEO Moe Girkins and former President and CEO Bruce Ryskamp, who read letters received from readers and a personal testimony of author Karen Kingsbury who said the NIV Study Bible had literally changed her life and admitted it was later the "swaying point" in signing her contract with Zondervan. Verne Kenney, executive vice president of sales, told the group the Bible's impact has been "extraordinary."

The evening concluded with a viewing of the IllumiNations fireworks display and a dessert reception hosted by Walt Disney Studios in the World Showplace with a surprise concert from American Idol finalist and Lyric Street Records (Disney) recording artist Phil Stacey.

Earlier that morning, the NIV also was in the spotlight in a sponsored breakfast centering on Bible translations with Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss. The two shared research included in the book How to Choose a Translation for All It's Worth (Zondervan).

Fee, a professor emeritus of New Testament Studies at Regent College and a member of the Committee on Bible Translation, told attendees that "the great difficulty (in translation) was finding something understandable and readable."

Strauss, professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, even addressed controversies surrounding the translation's update, the Today's New International Version (TNIV).

"Sadly, the misinformation campaign against the TNIV has soiled its name," he said.

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