Branch Greetings (from Annual Report)

For my administrative assistant, Mrs Jolanda Tichelaar, and me, 2024 was not only a year of much change, but also a year of much learning. We had to become familiar with all aspects of managing the TBS (Canada) office and interacting with the many individuals, churches, schools, outreach organisations, and prisons that we serve. Every week we were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who visited our store. Many were familiar to us through our range of church contacts, but almost every week we also welcomed customers or visitors who learned about TBS for the first time through word of mouth, via public transit advertisements, and the local Coffee News (a weekly two-page news flyer placed in many fast-food outlets in Lethbridge and neighbouring towns), or because they were visiting a nearby business and were curious about the new Bible store next door. We occasionally welcomed people who were disappointed to learn that we only sell the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible, but those occasions became opportunities not only to explain why we only sell the KJV, but also to offer free literature for further reading. 

During the year of our Lord 2024, TBS (Canada):

• Granted hundreds of Bibles to Sunday school and elementary school children.
• Almost as many were also provided at a discounted price for middle and high school students.
• More than 1,500 Bibles were granted to prison inmates through their chaplains.
• More than 15,000 Bibles, New Testaments with Psalms, and individual Gospels were granted or sold at reduced prices to organisations and individuals for distribution as part of their outreach work.

It is both humbling and encouraging for us to be involved with the distribution of so many TBS Bibles and Scripture items throughout Canada. Our country has largely forsaken its Christian heritage and no longer acknowledges the authority of God’s Word in public education, the justice system, and all levels of government. Despite our backsliding as individuals and as a nation, the Lord still allows us freedom of worship and facilitates the distribution of His Word throughout the land. Truly, ‘It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3.22–23).

Throughout the past year, the Lord inclined the hearts of many individuals, churches, organisations, and businesses to support the work of the Society financially. Small and great, every gift is a humbling reminder that the Lord continues to provide even though the cost of living has risen disproportionately to personal income. ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts’ (Haggai 2.8). To Him be all thanksgiving and honour for the funds received, which enabled us to cover all costs incurred, provide the additional monthly funding TBS (UK) needs to pay the Tagalog translator full-time, and transfer a large surplus to TBS (UK) for other translation and granting projects. Thanks to the sustaining Hand of the Lord, and the invaluable help of Mrs Tichelaar and several loyal volunteers, I may report that 2024 exceeded my expectations. Having the opportunity to read much in preparation for writing articles for the Canadian Report was a very rewarding and instructive experience. Meeting new people in person or via telephone calls and conversing with them about their outreach efforts gave me a deeper appreciation for the extent of Bible distribution in Canada. It is the Word of God, and He will cause it to bear fruit wherever and in whomever He will.

In both the spring and the fall, I travelled to Ontario to attend the annual meetings. It was my privilege to hand out Bibles and carry out TBS presentations for students in schools and/or homeschool groups in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, and each opportunity was a rewarding experience. Attending the AGM in London and meeting several of the TBS team at William Tyndale House was a special privilege as well. It gave me an even greater awareness of the enormity of the undertaking in which TBS is engaged. Towards the end of the year, I was diagnosed with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (Sezary Syndrome) and needed to start treatments immediately. Despite time off for treatments, I was enabled to do most of my work for the remainder of the year. ‘What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits towards me?’ (Psalm 116.12).

With this brief overview of the past year, I extend TBS (Canada)’s hearty greetings to TBS (UK) at William Tyndale House as well as to each of the other Branches. May the Lord bless and prosper the Trinitarian Bible Society in its efforts to make ‘The Word of God Among All Nations’ a reality. The Apostle Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 3.1, wrote, ‘Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you’. May the Lord grant prayer in all our hearts for the Society and each of its many labourers. Most importantly, may His Holy Spirit accompany His Word. He has promised in Isaiah 55.10–11, ‘For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it’. Let that be an encouragement for 2025.

On behalf of Trinitarian Bible Society (Canada),
William Grisnich
General Secretary, TBS (Canada)