The Christian Experiment

One Simple Question

The Christian Experiment is about one simple question:

If you could easily and freely help your brothers and sisters in Christ, would you do so?

That question is rooted in Paul’s words: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).

The words “as we have opportunity” are especially meaningful in our generation.

Through social media, Christians have unprecedented opportunities to share something good—and something that can genuinely do good—with hundreds, thousands, or even millions in a matter of seconds.

John wrote: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:16–17).

While John was speaking specifically about material possessions, the principle raises an important question:

If God has entrusted us with something that can be used for the good of another believer—including our social media influence—shouldn’t we be willing to use it?

One share can introduce a need—and an opportunity to meet that need—to hundreds or thousands of believers.

Such influence, for example, can be used to make a significant difference for our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in places where Bibles are restricted, difficult to obtain, or unavailable to many believers.

To be more specific: The Christian Experiment is in relation to sharing a Bible fundraiser for our persecuted brothers and sisters—simply creating awareness that has real potential.

Consider These Two Examples

Because our circumstances are very different from those of the early church, it’s helpful to consider how New Testament believers responded when they had opportunities to help fellow Christians.

For example, in 2 Corinthians 8:1–4, Paul pointed to the Macedonian believers as an example for the church in Corinth:

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”

These believers were experiencing severe affliction and extreme poverty, yet they were “begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”

They embraced the opportunity to help their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul then encouraged the Corinthian believers to follow their example: “See that you excel in this act of grace also” (2 Cor. 8:7).

We see something similar in Hebrews 10:32–34, where we read:

“But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

These believers chose to identify with and show compassion toward their imprisoned brothers and sisters. Their compassion came at tremendous personal cost. Yet, they joyfully accepted the plundering of their property.

Our circumstances are obviously very different. The Christian Experiment doesn’t ask you to risk your possessions or make a financial sacrifice. Rather, it’s about using your God-given influence to create awareness of a Bible fundraiser for our persecuted brothers and sisters, for Christians who don’t have their own copy of God’s Word.

That contrast is worth considering.

If believers before us were willing to sacrifice so much to help their brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing to use something as simple as our social media influence?

If so, here’s the main link you can share: www.HelpThePersecutedChurch.com

These figures illustrate hypothetical funding potential. They are not actual purchases, verified distributions, or forecasts. Audiences may overlap, and response rates vary.

The 1% Potential

Since I don’t want The Christian Experiment to remain mostly theoretical, I want to illustrate the incredible potential that already exists within the Christian community.

Pastors, authors, musicians, ministries, churches, Christian organizations, and Christian media outlets collectively reach tens of millions of believers through social media. Their influence already exists.

The question is what could happen if even a very small portion of it were used to help our persecuted brothers and sisters receive God’s Word.

To make this practical, I selected thirty Christian individuals and ministries with significant social-media audiences.

Because I don’t want to single anyone out, I’ve only listed the number of their subscribers (YouTube) or followers (Facebook). Additionally, I’ve listed the number of Bibles they would be able to help distribute if only 1% of their audience were to participate. The purpose is to show what Christian influence could potentially accomplish.

Before I do so, here is how the Bible fundraiser works:

• Buy a $100 bookstore gift card for $5 and redeem it for the entire ebook collection.
• 50% of each purchase is designated toward Bibles for the persecuted church.
• One Bible on a micro-SD card is $5.00 (often the SD card contains more material)

So, in practical terms: Two $5 purchases designate $5 toward Bible distribution, enough to help fund one Bible at the stated $5 cost.

Now imagine that these Christian individuals and ministries shared the fundraiser and just 1% of their audience participated. Using the audience figures in this illustration, the potential impact would look something like this:

1,390,000 subscribers – 6,950 Bibles
31,000,000 followers – 155,000 Bibles
8,000,000 followers – 40,000 Bibles
5,100,000 followers – 25,500 Bibles
4,300,000 followers – 21,500 Bibles
3,300,000 followers – 16,500 Bibles
1,300,000 followers – 6,500 Bibles
10,000,000 followers – 50,000 Bibles
2,400,000 followers – 12,000 Bibles
3,200,000 followers – 16,000 Bibles
11,000,000 followers – 55,000 Bibles
2,800,000 followers – 14,000 Bibles
3,800,000 followers – 19,000 Bibles
5,100,000 followers – 25,500 Bibles
416,000 followers – 2,080 Bibles
452,000 followers – 2,260 Bibles
570,000 followers – 2,850 Bibles
2,900,000 followers – 14,500 Bibles
10,000,000 followers – 50,000 Bibles
2,500,000 followers – 12,500 Bibles
1,700,000 followers – 8,500 Bibles
4,000,000 followers – 20,000 Bibles
7,800,000 followers – 39,000 Bibles
2,200,000 followers – 11,000 Bibles
1,600,000 followers – 8,000 Bibles
4,800,000 followers – 24,000 Bibles
5,300,000 followers – 26,500 Bibles
1,600,000 followers – 8,000 Bibles
3,100,000 followers – 15,500 Bibles
4,100,000 followers – 20,500 Bibles

Total number: 728,640 Bibles

Obviously, these figures aren’t predictions. There’s no guarantee that 1% of any audience would respond. They are simply a way of highlighting the incredible potential that does exist.

And even if the response was only 0.1%, the number would still be significant: 72,864 Bibles