Help Us Give Hope!

Hello, we are Charlie and Jill Lanham, founders of Bible Verses To Go.

We need your help!

Together, we can give hope to millions of people online.

THE NEED
Worldwide, there are about 100 million discouraged and distraught individuals searching the Internet for help each month. That’s like the combined population of California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

Their needs are quite diverse. Some are looking for happiness and meaning, others are just feeling anxious and lonely, many are pursuing inspiration and fulfillment, and most need hope and encouragement.

For example, last month Google processed:

300,000 searches for "fear"
300,000 searches for “lonely”
250,000 searches for "meaning of life"
200,000 searches for “how to be happy”
110,000 searches for “inspirational Bible verses”
1 million searches for “sad”
1 million searches for "anxiety"

These are staggering numbers. They represent real men, women, and teenagers with broken hearts and unrealized aspirations.

We wish we had a name and picture for each one of them to make their hurts personal to us. You can imagine their feelings and tears when they type those words on a keyboard and anxiously wait for Google’s response.

We all go through hardship in our lives, both Christians and non-Christians alike. Like the searchers above, we may at times feel anxious, lonely, or unfulfilled. But what if you didn’t have family, friends, or church to confide in? Or were simply too embarrassed or proud?

If Google was the only place you could openly share your deepest feelings, would you find someone waiting for you in cyberspace with the truth that Jesus said, “would set you free”?

THE ANSWER
God’s Word can bring real comfort and hope to these dear people. It has much to say about fear, meaning, unhappiness, and all the other issues perplexing them. Just one Bible verse can radically change their life forever!

Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

When someone is fearful, they need to hear, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4)

When they are anxious - “Casting on all your worries on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

And when they feel guilty - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Let's imagine Emily, a single mom living in an apartment in Chicago. She's fearful about the loss of her job and how to care for her children. When she sits in front of a computer and types the words "I'm afraid", how do we help her find Psalm 34:4 and other great verses dealing with fear?

BIBLE VERSES TO GO
The first major challenge is to match all the potential needs of Emily, and the other 100 million people like her, with the most effective Bible verses. The matrix of needs and verses is immense.

The second is even more daunting. Online surfers must navigate through an Internet minefield containing hundreds of websites and millions of pages that are often deceptive, and sometimes even destructive. Emily and others may never find the verses they so desperately need.

We created Bible Verses To Go to meet these challenges. Our software helps them arrive safely at a site that is ready to display Bible verses that best address their specific need. The process we employ is complex and technical, but it involves Keyword Targeting and Search Engine Optimization.

The website is organized around people’s needs, emotions, and behavior so that someone needing forgiveness, feeling stressed, or wanting to be a kinder person can easily find the most appropriate Bible Verses.

An important aspect of what we do involves the creation of picture-verses that combine Bible verse artwork with stunning photographs. God's Word can especially make a lasting impression when it’s coupled with awesome photos of the world He created.

As the name implies, we want people to take the Word of God “to go” when they leave our website. Every Bible verse artwork can be downloaded for free. Our hope is that they will print them out for display and constant referral.

Currently, over 800 people subscribe to our Verse of the Day. Social media continues to grow with 2,000 followers on Facebook and 500,000 monthly viewers on Pinterest.

IMMEDIATE PLANS
All of this is a good start, but it’s just a tiny drop in the ocean of needs. The sad reality is that we’re still not reaching those people that most need to see God’s Word.

We are urgently seeking the resources to accomplish the following:

Expand the website with over 75 new Bible verse topics to ensure that all the key problems are covered such as grief, self-worth, pride, attitude, lying and much more.
Create a YouTube Channel that displays Bible verse slideshow videos for all topic areas.
Optimize the entire website to ensure it ranks at the top of Google search results.
Incorporate short videos, podcasts, or summary thoughts from key leaders such as Charles Stanley, John MacArthur, Chuck Swindoll, John Piper, and others.
Reach millions of mobile users by redesigning the Bible Verses To Go app.
Develop a companion website in Spanish, the second most common worldwide language with over 500 million Internet users.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Internet is a vast, untapped mission field. If Jesus were present today He might say, “Go ye into all the World [Wide Web] and preach the gospel."

If you share our belief that even one Bible verse can make a difference in someone's life, then we would love for you to join us in this endeavor!

1. Pray
We don't casually ask you to pray like it's just a box to check. We desperately need your fervent prayers!

Please pray that God would grant us daily wisdom, encouragement, and endurance.

Most importantly, pray for the people that visit our website or see our verses on social media. Ask God to intervene in their circumstances and give them hope for the future.

Just think what God might do if hundreds of us would pray "without ceasing" about this.

2. Give Financially
We've poured our lives and finances into this project for three years now. We're starting to make a real difference, but we will never reach this overwhelming mass of humanity without your financial help.

Matthew 9:26 says, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them.”

All of us together can truly touch millions of lives.

Will you help us give them hope?

Just click the orange 'Become a Patron' button on our Patreon page. Please consider a pledge of $25, $50, $100, or even $250 per month.

But any contribution you make, small or large, will mean so much, and will all add-up to something substantial that God can use.

You can cancel or change your pledge at any time. But our pledge to you will remain the same; that we will wisely invest your hard-earned donations.

Share this opportunity with your family and friends by text, e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. It can really make a difference!

Please make a contribution at Patreon today!

Love in Christ,