The tour, which began Sept. 30, concludes Feb. 12 after a two-day stop in Lake Forest and Los Angeles. The America’s NIV Bible will stop in Minneapolis on Nov. 5. In all, organizers expect more than 31,000 handwritten verses during the 90-city, 44-state cross-country tour “Bible Across America.”

“The Bible is America’s favorite book of all time. And because of its accuracy, clarity and literary quality, the NIV has become the most successful Bible translation of all time,” Moe Girkins, president and CEO of Zondervan, which publishes the NIV Bible, said in a news release. “We believe that a completely handwritten version of the NIV Bible by people from all across our country will help America rediscover the Bible in a fresh, new way.

“The Bible Across America is a symbol of Zondervan’s commitment to make the Word of God more accessible and more relevant to more people.”

Girkins added that celebrating the Bible through the tour and handwritten Bible was a monumental way to “open more hearts to the Word of God.”

A team of four people will drive a 42-foot luxury motorhome, donated by RV supplier Spartan Motors, more than 15,000-miles, crisscrossing the United States over the next five months.

The brightly painted RV is a traveling billboard for the campaign.

As part of the tour, scheduled stops will be made at events, churches, universities, retail stores, American landmarks and other venues to allow people of all ages and walks of life to write a verse in the Bible, which will then be published and sold nationwide.

Contributors of the America’s NIV edition will be asked to pen a single verse on actual thin-stock Bible paper. Each verse and each page will be published together as a complete America’s NIV Bible available in stores nationwide. The Bible will include an unprecedented index of 31,173 writers, one for every verse of the Bible.

Girkins has already written the first verse, and Billy Graham and President Bush have agreed to add entries.

Zondervan plans to create two original editions. One original transcript of America’s NIV will be offered to the Smithsonian Institution, and the second will be auctioned off to benefit the International Bible Society in support of its Bible translation and distribution efforts around the world.

Translated by a team of more than 100 scholars, the NIV Bible was released in 1978, selling more than 1.2 million copies in its first printing, and has now sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, making it the most widely used English-language translation and the best-read contemporary edition.

Although published by Zondervan, the NIV was commissioned by the International Bible Society, which still owns the copyright.

The Bible Across America tour started at Zondervan’s Grand Rapids, Mich., headquarters and will stop for a NASCAR race in Charlotte, N.C., and at a young church leaders conference in Atlanta before concluding at the National Pastors’ Convention in San Diego.


ACTION POINT:
The Bible will be in Minneapolis at Solomon’s Porch on Nov. 5. For more information, visit www.bibleacrossamerica.com.