Brazil’s Bible Society and the Internet

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The Bible Society of Brazil (BBS) is keeping pace with the communications revolution and has added the Internet to the means it uses to spread the Word of God.

Encouraged by the interest shown in the Internet home page it launched in June 1997, the Society decided to enter the world of ‘e-commerce’ by starting a ‘virtual shop’.

“The idea of creating a shop on the Internet arose in 1998,” says Cyro César de Aguiar, the BBS’s Information Technology Secretary. “The project got under way in 1999 and commercial activities started in June 2000.” Since June, the BBS has changed the presentation of its home page, turning it into an Internet ‘portal’.

Simple

By starting there, visitors can learn about the Society’s main products: the covers and contents can be inspected, sizes and prices ascertained, and the procedure for making a purchase is simple. Orders are dispatched the same day.

BBS General Secretary the Rev Luiz Antonio Giraldi is alert to old and new ways of spreading the Gospel. When he began working for the BBS 43 years ago as Colportage Secretary, colporteurs distributed the Bible from door to door.

Abandon

“We must not abandon the old Bible distribution channels because they still work,” he says, “but the Bible message, which is alive and up-to-date, also needs to be spread by modern means of communication, so that it reaches everyone as fast as possible.”

The address of the Bible Society of Brazil’s website is http://www.sbb.org.br

(WR 356/18 - 12.00) [PHOTOS]

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