EEM Celebrates 15 Years of Bibles in Schools, Impacting 4.5 Million Students

Ministry Reaching Eastern Europe with the Word of God
Sees Social and Cultural Transformation

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sep. 17, 2024 — EEM (Eastern European Mission), a ministry that has faithfully provided Bibles and Bible-based materials in former Communist bloc countries for more than 60 years, celebrates 4.5 million Bibles placed in public schools in nations throughout Eastern Europe over the last 15 years. This has only been made possible through efforts such as EEM’s fall Hope campaign from contributions by generous U.S. donors.

In 2009, Ukrainian leaders from diverse religious and political backgrounds approached EEM with a vision to introduce Bibles into public schools, launching a movement that has spread to various nations in Eastern Europe, such as Croatia, Hungary, Moldova and North Macedonia. Like Ukraine, these additional formerly communist-run nations began providing Bibles and teaching Christian values within their schools, leading to notably enhanced student moral and academic development across the region. 

“The character transformation we have seen over the last short decade and a half goes beyond the schools,” said EEM President Bob Burckle. “These communities are raising up more civic-minded, more generous, more peaceful members of society — an impact we can’t ignore in light of the turmoil currently happening in this region.”

Today, more than three-fourths of Ukrainian schools have integrated the Word of God into their programs, and the overall impact throughout the Eastern European region is that the Bible is being taught in more than 4,000 public schools, reaching more than 4.5 million students. The Bible classes are offered as an elective, but the majority of the students are interested, with enrollment rates as high as 97% in Ukraine.

“The Word of God may have started in the classrooms here, but it has now changed every other facet of life—and the overall perspective—for the people of Eastern Europe,” adds EEM VP Dirk Smith. “The seeds of hope planted 15 years ago are now yielding obvious Kingdom fruit. It is an absolute honor that we’ve been able to share the Bible with these students whose lives have been subsequently transformed by it.”

To learn more about EEM, visit https://www.eem.org/.

About EEM
EEM (Eastern European Mission) was established in 1961 to provide Bibles and Bible-based materials throughout the former communist bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Today, EEM publishes and prints Bibles and New Testaments as well as Teen Bibles, Children’s Bibles and coloring books, distributing them through a vast network of partner churches and organizations reaching more than 35 countries in more than 25 different languages. Their fall 2024 Hope campaign seeks to provide another 970,000+ Bibles in the region. www.eem.org.    

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Media Contact: 
 A. Larry Ross Communications 
 Melany Ethridge, 972-267-1111 
 melany@alarryross.com