A look at our Philippine context shows that more than half of Filipinos do not own a Bible. A survey conducted by the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) revealed that 60% of Filipinos do not own a Bible. Among young people, both teenagers and young professionals, the number is bigger: 70% do not own a Bible. If we are to take the Bible ownership as a sign, then this is not a very good one.
Even among young people who own a Bible, a great number acknowledge they do not read it because they do not know where to start, do not know how to read the Bible, nor do they understand the Bible version they have. But the most striking revelation is that many of them don't read the Bible because they do not see the benefits of Bible reading in their lives.
It is in response to this reality that the Philippine Bible Society (PBS), together with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the Philippine Evangelical Church Council (PCEC), and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) through its Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) and on Youth (ECY), and other independent churches and groups have come together, prayed together seeking God's guidance, and decided together to come up with a deliberate Youth Scripture Engagement Program --- the Y! EXPLODE: The Bible Adventure Series.
MP3 Theme Song for Y!Explode. (You can download this mp3 if you login or register from our website)
Y!ES Teaser
BaB-K Dance for the Word Contest!
Calling all punk music, street dance enthusiasts and Word-lovers out there! You are invited to Y! Explode, a FREE youth gig on November 29, 2008 at the Folk Arts Theater. Meet and make friends... + Full Story
We live at the crossroads of time and history.
Never has there been a time where the call for every Filipino, young and old,
to come before the throne of God is more relevant and necessary. We live ate
a time where economic, social, and political turmoil should draw us closer into
the loving and caring arms of God, our only and ultimate refuge. The Bible directs
us toward God, and has already charted the map for us. The Body of Christ
in the Philippines can no longer afford to be divided by our petty differences
and distinctives; the call for us to unite in the name of God and His Word is
real... and we have to respond accordingly. Y! EXPLODE is oure response and
challenge.
COME AND JOIN US!
NORA G. LUCERO (PBS General Secretary)
ARTURO BASTES, SVD, DD (PBS President)
