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FOWLERVILLE, Mich., Dec. 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- Americans can give a Christmas gift this year of Bibles or Christian books to pastors and Christian workers in developing countries by participating in "Operation Bare Your Bookshelf" sponsored by Christian Resources International, a 50-year old ministry aimed at providing Bibles and Christian literature to people from around the world.

"Research indicates that the average American Christian owns nine Bibles and is actively in the market for more," says CRI Executive Director Fred Palmerton, whose organization receives more than 250 letters a month from pastors and Christian workers in developing countries whose churches own no Bibles or Christian books. "Every day, more than 122,000 people become Christian, and most of those people are in Africa, Asia, and South America. They're attending churches where even the pastors have no Bibles. It would be an amazing Christmas gift to send a Bible or other Christian books to these precious brothers and sisters in the Lord."

"Operation Bare Your Bookshelf" is a project that makes it easy for American Christians to send their Bibles and other Christian books oversees. Just visit www.bareyourbookshelf.com and enter your name, address, and denomination. Then CRI sends for free all the mailing materials needed to send Bibles and Christian books to a specific pastor or Christian worker overseas. "We'll even send them the actual request letter, so they can get to know and pray for the recipient by name," says Palmerton.

Because the mailing materials bear CRI's return address, volunteers need not worry that they'll be personally contacted by anyone overseas. But Palmerton says CRI will personally pass on to volunteers the thank you letters generated by the packages they send. Volunteers and recipients are matched by denomination to ensure that the material sent by the volunteer will actually be used in the recipient's church. The Bare Your Bookshelf web site (www.bareyourbookshelf.com) gives comprehensive suggestions on which books are most needed – books that most average Christians already have on their shelves, or which can be easily found inexpensively in each participant's local area. Each participant in the program can then fill the mailing bag sent by CRI and take it to the Post Office with the rest of their holiday packages. Sending an M-Bag to most countries will cost less than $15. Donors are also invited to contribute to CRI to support this project.

Christian Resources International is a 50-year old volunteer-driven ministry that enables ordinary Christians to send their used Christian books and Bibles to English-speaking recipients in the more than 180 countries from which CRI receives handwritten and e-mailed requests every month.

Christian Resources International Contact:

Tracy Nordyke

Love the Church Campaign Coordinator

503.641.1637

questions@newchurchspecialties.org