There are about 32 Million People in MALAYSIA, and despite our many progresses as a Church and a Nation, MORE THAN HALF have never experienced the thirst-quenching, life-giving power of THE WORD OF GOD.

Activities

UBS is celebrating its 80th Anniversary

Below is a short video explaining its history from its inception to the present:

Short UBS History 

The Beginning

United Bible Societies (UBS) was established in 1946, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, as an international fellowship bringing together Bible Societies to coordinate Scripture distribution on a global scale. 

In May 1946, representatives from 13 countries gathered at the Elfinsward Conference Centre, south of London, to formalise a new alliance. Among them was Eivind Berggrav, Bishop of Norway, who had been imprisoned by the Nazis for his faith and spoke movingly of the Bible as a source of hope in times of suffering. Delegates shared powerful testimonies of wartime Bible work: Scriptures being distributed in secret, presses destroyed, funds lost, and faith sustained despite persecution.

The conference resolved to establish United Bible Societies as an interconfessional fellowship, dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission by making the Bible available to all nations, peoples, and languages. 

At a time when much of the world lay devastated, this growing movement of Bible Societies recognised the urgent spiritual need to work together, beyond borders and denominations, to restore access to the Word of God. The roots of this vision reach back to the early nineteenth century when the first Bible Societies were founded.  

This unification aimed to pool resources for efficient Bible translation, production, and dissemination, laying the groundwork for what would become a network supporting work in over 240 countries and territories. By fostering interdependence among independent Bible Societies, UBS emerged as a pivotal force in post-war reconstruction and ongoing evangelistic outreach.

Expansion and Growth

UBS emerged at a moment of immense global need. The newly-established organisation built on pre-war collaborations but was driven by the urgent post-war need to restore access to Scripture in war-torn regions. Across Europe and Asia, printing facilities lay in ruins, and transport networks had collapsed. In response, the Fellowship focused first on practical collaboration, sharing resources, restoring production, and supplying Scriptures to refugees and rebuilding communities. 

In the decades that followed, Bible translation became central to UBS’s mission. From the late 1940s through the 1950s, UBS expanded rapidly, establishing regional centres and supporting the formation of new Bible Societies, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as decolonisation reshaped the global Church. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Bible Societies adopted new translation approaches that emphasised local languages and cultures, greatly expanding access to Scripture worldwide. Coordinated strategies also enabled Bible Societies to dramatically increase global Scripture distribution. 

By the 1960s, membership had grown significantly, reflecting the organisation’s shift toward interconfessional cooperation, including early dialogues with Catholic groups that culminated in a formal 1969 agreement with the Catholic Bible Federation to avoid duplicating translation work. This period saw UBS invest in training programs for translators and distributors, enabling it to support Scripture production in hundreds of languages and to respond to global upheavals such as the Cold War and independence movements.

The 1970s saw UBS launch major literacy initiatives, recognising that access to the Bible also required the ability to read. Millions of Scripture portions were produced for new readers, strengthening both literacy and faith. In the 1980s, a landmark achievement was reached through the establishment of the Amity Printing Press in China, which enabled the production of millions of Bibles for Chinese Christians and beyond. During this decade, the global Braille ministry was established. UBS emerged as a frontrunner by producing the first guidelines for Braille translation of the Bible. These guidelines later became an international standard and are now applied worldwide.

These decades saw significant institutional growth. The 1970s through 1990s marked rapid institutional growth, with UBS membership expanding from around 50 societies in the early 1970s to over 140 by 2004, operating in more than 200 countries and territories by the early 21st century..  

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain in the 1990s, UBS responded quickly to renewed opportunities in Eastern Europe, supporting the formation of new Bible Societies and distributing millions of Scriptures to communities that had long been deprived of them. Entering the 21st century, new initiatives expanded access to Scripture through print, digital media, and innovative outreach programs. 

This growth was fueled by active engagement with the Bible in local contexts, and by partnerships with Orthodox churches formalised in a 2010 memorandum.

Present Times

By 2025, UBS has grown into a fellowship of 156 independent Bible Societies serving over 240 countries and territories, demonstrating sustained expansion through collaborative funding and shared expertise. Alongside translation, UBS increasingly emphasised Bible engagement, helping people not only receive Scripture, but understand and use it within their cultural and spiritual contexts.

Today, UBS continues to adapt to a changing world, embracing digital technologies, innovative formats such as audio and Braille, and new approaches to Bible ministry, while remaining anchored in its founding conviction: that everyone, everywhere, should have access to the Bible in a language they understand.