Be God's catalyst in helping people reach their world for Christ.
Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]
BTTB broadcasts media programs produced and distributed over radio, television, and internet as well as publishing of printed books, audio and video tapes for spiritual encouragement and edification. BTTB is also part of international ministries including radio programming, Christian literature distribution, missionary and scholarship support, affiliated ministries support, and special projects. They are currently helping to support 130 missionaries in 35 countries.
BTTB sponsors ministry programs in 23 languages spoken by 56% of the world's population. BTTB produce 64 unique radio programs around the world on an ongoing basis and make use of almost every form of media imaginable to teach the Bible. While the dominant medium has historically been radio, BTTB's outreach has grown to include various forms of print media, audio, video, television and the Internet.
Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]
BTTB uses the following to communicate its beliefs:
The Bible:
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the revelation of God to mankind, is verbally and fully inspired by Him, is sufficient for the knowledge of God and His will that is necessary for the eternal welfare of mankind, is infallible and inerrant in its original manuscripts, and is the supreme and final authority for all Christian faith and conduct.
God:
We believe that there is but one God, whose essential nature is that of a living, personal Spirit. He is infinitely perfect in all of His attributes, He is the creator and sustainer of all things, and He exists in three persons?Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ:
We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man; that is, He is fully divine and also fully human. He preexisted eternally with the Father, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfect life and died a substitutionary death for the sins of mankind. We believe that He arose bodily from the grave, that He ascended to heaven, where He is presently High Priest and Advocate for His people, and that He will return personally and bodily to the earth at the close of this age. He is the world?s only Savior and is the Lord of all.
The Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, the third Person of the Trinity. We believe that He was sent from the Father by the Son to convict the world, to regenerate and indwell those who trust in Christ, to baptize them into the Body of Christ, to seal them for the final day of redemption, to guide them into truth, to fill them for a life of holiness and victory and to empower them for witness and service. We believe that He gives spiritual gifts to believers for the proper functioning of the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
Man:
We believe that man was originally created by a definite act of God in His own image and is dependent upon and accountable to his Creator. Through disobedience, the first man sinned and fell from his original state of moral perfection. As a consequence, he brought upon himself and upon the whole human race the penalty for sin, which is spiritual and physical death. Since Adam, every person is born with an inherently sinful nature and becomes a sinner in thought, word and deed. Every person, therefore, stands under the just condemnation of God and is unable to save himself or to present deeds worthy of merit before God.
Salvation:
We believe that a person is saved by God?s grace alone, made possible through the shed blood of Christ, whereby He died a substitutionary death for mankind, and through the Resurrection of Christ. Salvation becomes effective when a person, by an act of faith, acknowledges Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. The benefits of this salvation include the forgiveness of sins and a new standing before God, the impartation of new life and all the privileges that accompany a new family relationship with God. The assurance of salvation as a present possession is the privilege of every believer in Christ.
The Christian Life:
We believe that God expects every believer to live a life of obedience, in which every area of his life is brought under the lordship of Jesus Christ and the fruit of the Spirit becomes increasingly evident in his life. The goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ. This life is characterized supremely by self-giving love for God and for others. The life and character of Christ, which grows through the Holy Spirit, is noticeably distinct from the life of the world. A believer who resists the gracious working of the Holy Spirit and fails to grow in obedience is chastened in infinite love by his Heavenly Father so he may learn obedience.
The Church:
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is the universal company of God?s redeemed people, His Body, of which He is the head, His Bride, whom He loves infinitely, and His temple, in which He dwells. This universal Body of Christ is visibly expressed in local assemblies, whose purpose is to glorify God through worship, fellowship, instruction in God?s Word, observing the ordinances and training in service to the world. The supreme task in the mission of the Church is to make disciples for Christ in all the nations through the proclamation and teaching of the Gospel. The Church is also to demonstrate the love and compassion of Christ, through word and deed, in an alienated world.
The Future Life:
We believe in the imminent, premillennial return of Christ to take His people to be with Him and to judge and rule the earth in righteousness. We believe in the resurrection of the body for both believers and unbelievers. We believe that the believer goes to be with Christ in conscious blessedness immediately after death, having escaped the condemnation of his sins through the death of Christ. He will, however, stand before God to receive rewards for works approved by God or to suffer loss for works disapproved. The believer will live eternally in the immediate presence of God, while the unbeliever must face the eternal and holy Judge, who will sentence him for his sins. He will experience the punishment of eternal separation in hell from the presence of God.
Satan:
We believe in the personality and depraved character of Satan, who is the great enemy of God and man. We believe that he, along with the company of demonic beings serving him, works out his evil plans through the ungodly world system, limited only by the sovereign rule of God. We believe that he was judged by Christ at the cross and will ultimately meet his doom in the lake of fire, where he will remain eternally.
Back to the Bible describes its history as follows:
On May 1, 1939, Theodore Epp brought Back to the Bible to the airwaves. His vision was to proclaim the message of Christianity through a radio broadcast. His Partner was God.
More than 55 years later, there have been a lot of changes in Back to the Bible, but the basic message of God's love is still the same.
When Theodore Epp started the broadcast, his goal was to make Jesus Christ known to the world. He started by supporting missionaries, adding U.S. radio stations and broadcasting via shortwave radio to other countries.
In 1954 Back to the Bible's first international office opened in Canada. It was followed over the next five years by offices in England, Sri Lanka, France, the Philippines, Australia, South Africa, India, Ecuador and Jamaica.
By the early '70s, offices had been added in Italy, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia as well as a second office in India. Back to the Bible could be heard on more than 700 stations worldwide and was broadcasting in eight languages.
In 1980 Warren Wiersbe became the Assistant Bible Teacher and eventually took over as General Director in 1984. In 1985, Back to the Bible founder Theodore Epp died.
1988 brought the launching of a new women's ministry, Gateway To Joy with Elisabeth Elliot. And in 1990, Woodrow Kroll joined Back to the Bible as the new General Director and Bible Teacher, replacing Warren Wiersbe who retired.
In February of 1995, Back to the Bible moved to a new international headquarters building in Lincoln, Nebraska. The past five years had seen much growth and change including the addition of new foreign language programs and opening new offices in Poland, China and Russia. During the '90's we have also expanded into new media opportunities such as video, CD-ROM and now the Internet.
BTTB relies on support from the general public. BTTB also has monthly projects. To find out more about BTTB's monthly needs contact BTTB.
Research Analysis
Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]
| Transparency Grade of : C |
| Criteria category | Grade | Other Comments |
| Timeliness: | 70 | 12/4/2008 9:09:44 AM: Organization made financial information available greater than 7 ½ months. |
| Financial Information: | 90 | 12/4/2008 9:09:57 AM: Organization provided a reasonable amount of useful financial information. |
| Foundational Clarity: | | |
| Level of Cooperation: | | |
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MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]
| Ranking Category | Rating | Overall Rank | Educational Media Sector |
|---|
| Overall Efficiency Rating |  | 305 of 352 | 36 of 41 |
| Fund Acquisition Decision |  | 229 of 352 | 28 of 41 |
| Resource Allocation Decision | | 291 of 352 | 30 of 41 |
| Asset Utilization Decision | | 259 of 352 | 28 of 41 |
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