LET’S SHARE THE GOSPEL TOGETHER

As we look back at 2025 we are humbled by the Lord’s blessing on this ministry and the generosity that allows us to continue reaching people with God’s Word. We estimate that in 2025 we will have reached nearly 20 million people with the gospel – wow. God is so faithful! You are an essential part of this story, and we are boldly asking you to become a partner in ministry with us to fully fund the coming year.

EXPLORE OUR YEAR END CAMPAIGN

We are eager to share all of the exciting things God has done through the ministry of Open the Bible in 2025 and talk about a few projects we are excited about coming up in 2026, but we know that all of that information can be overwhelming. This year we also had the opportunity to recap the last 10 years of the film Heaven, How I Got Here all the way from the beginning, to where it is now, and where it is going!

Download our 2025 Year End Brochure for a more visual guide, or start exploring below!

A NOTE FROM PASTOR COLIN

Dear Friends,

As this new chapter of full-time ministry with Open the Bible begins for me, I have never been more excited for the opportunities the Lord has given us to advance the gospel worldwide. The work we are privileged to do is both necessary and urgent. At a time when so many are turning away from faith and away from God, we have the privilege of proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ by helping people open, read, and understand the Bible. The Bible is unlike any other book in history. It’s been around for centuries, and it speaks to us today with extraordinary freshness. It is the living seed that brings new birth. It is the milk that nurtures the new life of a young Christian and the meat that builds the muscle of a mature believer. My prayer for Open the Bible in 2026 is that each person we reach is deeply impacted by and finds life through the Word of God. I am truly grateful for your faithful support of Open the Bible.

– Pastor Colin

LOOKING BACK AT 2025

NEW PUBLICATIONS

With five new publications from Pastor Colin in 2025, we have been able to offer a variety of unique pathways for people to grow in faith. While each offering differing in its focus and approach, they all sought to help people open their Bibles and to glorify Jesus Christ.

• Be Your New Self, A deeper dive into learning how to live confidently, peacefully, purposefully, and freely in Christ.
• Drive Through the Bible, A 30-session guided tour that explores the beautiful and treacherous landscape of the entire Bible story.
• 30 Days with Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer, A book designed to enhance your devotional experience with space for reflection and guided prayers.
• Christmas Stories, A new look, with the same first-person narratives will help draw you and your loved ones into the story of our Savior’s birth.
• Hike Through the Bible, A vigorous path where you’ll explore the depth’s of God’s Word.

REGIONAL EVENTS

This fall members of our team traveled to four cities across the Midwest where we partnered with local churches and radio stations to host live FLY Through the Bible events, where Pastor Colin took audiences through the entire Bible story in two hours. Thousands attended, seeking to better understand how the entire Bible story begins in a garden, ends in a city, and all the way through points to Jesus.

With more than five billion copies of the Bible sold, translations in over 3,000 languages, and apps, nearly every person has access to God’s Word, yet so many people never open their Bibles. At Open the Bible, we are on a mission to change this, and events like these allow us to reach more and more people with the transformative power of God’s Word.

EXPANSION OF ABRE LA BIBLIA

Just two years aer its launch, our Spanish ministry, Abre la Biblia, is growing exponentially! Abre la Biblia expanded from producing and airing a new podcast once a week, to a daily podcast five days a week that is widely distributed around the world. With a Spanish website, a heart to reach Spanish speakers, and God’s faithful hand providing opportunities to host events in Mexico and Central America, we are amazed at all God is doing through this ministry!

Become a Partner in Ministry

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026

NEW PODCASTS

We want to reach as many people as we can with the gospel through the tools available to us, and one platform we will be leveraging much more in 2026 is Podcasts.

We’re excited to announce that the Hike Through the Bible book will have a sibling podcast, in which Pastor Colin and radio host, Steve Hiller, will dive further into each chapter of the book. In addition to that we will be producing another podcast likely to launch in mid 2026 that will vary in length and feature Pastor Colin teaching portions of the Bible and helping listeners apply to their daily lives.

MORE PUBLICATIONS

Pursuing Contentment, Growing in Faith, Growing in Hope, Growing in Love (all authored by Pastor Colin) are just a few of the many new publications we will release in 2026. But the excitement does not stop there. Our team is particularly excited about the production of our first graphic novel, inspired by Pastor Colin’s book, Heaven, How I Got Here. This captivating first-person narrative will bring the story of grace to life and the possibility for Open the Bible to reach younger audiences as well as those in prisons.

INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATES

In addition to continuing the significant growth in our Spanish ministry (Abre La Biblia), we will be aggressively investing in expanding our international presence in 2026. In the United Kingdom, we will more than double our investment in our “on the ground ministry” that is really beginning to grow in its impact with well-attended events at conferences, churches, and even prisons. Our UK team is finding its stride helping people throughout England and Northern Ireland open God’s Word and grow in their love of Jesus.

Using a model similar to our partners in The Gospel Coalition, we have already begun to secure relationships with affiliates in other parts of the world as well. In 2026, we will launch websites serving India (in both Tamil & Hindi), serving Albania, and potentially serving Greek and Portuguese speakers. We have worked hard to identify like-minded, gospel-focused people on the ground in each of these locales that we can trust to translate, distribute, and promote our content far and wide digitally and also do so locally… hand to hand.

Help Fund 2026 Iniatives

RECAP OF THE FILM

HEAVEN, HOW I GOT HERE

This past Easter season at Open the Bible we were in awe of the generosity God showed to us as the Heaven, How I Got Here International Project kept growing, and growing, and growing. Throughout the month of April, the powerful evangelistic film, Heaven, How I Got Here, reached millions of people airing on platforms such as YouTube, TWR360, TV stations across the world, and websites for over 25 of our international partners. Click here for a special message from our international partners!

• 500,000+ watched online
• 2 Million+ watched on television
• 150,000+ used online resources

While we are incredibly encouraged by the response to these digital channels, the reach of this film did not stop there. Nearly 10,000 people attended in-person events in Albania, China, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico City, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen. Several of these showings happened in prisons. Praise God!

“I watched the film online with my brothers and sisters on Good Friday, and felt touched. In particular, the robber’s inner monologue was so true that he spoke of his hatred, found out his sins, and received his forgiveness. When the actor cried and cried, it represented my heart. Thank God, he actually suffered for me, an unbearable person, in order to bring me into his paradise!” – Viewer in China

The Details

2011: The Beginning

• April 17th, 2011: Pastor Colin preaches the sermon Breakfast with the Devil, Supper with Savior.
• Moved by the Sermon: Having heard the sermon live, John Aiello (Executive Director of Open the Bible) is inspired to share the gospel with his ailing father.
• Not long after: Through God’s grace, John’s father is touched by the story of the thief on the cross and puts his trust in Jesus Christ.
• The Ripple Spreads: Our team sets out to share this story of grace far and wide.
• The Vision Takes Form: Pastor Colin writes a first-person narrative from the thief’s perspective, bringing the gospel to life in a fresh way.

2015: A Busy Year

• March 2015: Pastor Colin’s book Heaven How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross is released, selling thousands of copies.
• Our Team Dreams Bigger: Wanting to host an evangelistic event to immerse people in the thief’s story, we create a one-man-play version of this story.
• Stephen Baldwin’s Testimony: His story convinces us he’s the one for the role. He records the audiobook and performs the one-man play in Illinois.
• March 31 – April 2, 2015: 3 nights, 1 stage, 1 man—5,000 people see the gospel come alive.

2016: A DVD

• Bringing it Into Homes: Powerful stories from the one-man play spark the vision to bring Stephen Baldwin back to film it for a DVD.
• Growing Through Radio: With a growing radio audience, we create a drama series based on the audiobook to share far and wide.

2019: A Tract

• Bringing it Into Homes: As the story of grace spreads through the book, audiobook, play, & radio drama, we create the tract How Can I Be Sure About Heaven to help answer questions about heaven and salvation.

2023: A Television Program

• A National Stage: Open the Bible seizes a unique opportunity to air the film on national television across 8 U.S. markets, reaching an estimated 200,000 viewers with this powerful story of grace.

2024: A PRAYER

• Breaking Barriers: After securing full rights to the film to allow for unrestricted premieres, we pray for opportunities to translate the film into other languages, and God begins to open new doors.

2025: A GLOBAL EFFORT

• Taking Grace Worldwide: We partner with 17 organizations to translate it into over 25 languages, reaching millions.
• What’s Next: With the bold faith we’ve been given, we pray for the next chapter in the project’s journey.

We can’t do it without your faithful support! Become a ministry partner today!