Bible engagement: media & broadcasting

Eternity Newspaper

Eternity Newspaper circulates to 2,500 churches each month. In August 2013, an Eternity readers survey found that the paper was read by a wide demographic group, (38% aged over 55, 27% aged between 40 and 55 and a further 35% aged under 40).

They found the Eternity articles helpful discussion topics, with one participant saying “I think there are a range of issues that you can discuss with other people quite easily without pushing the Christian message.”

In 2013 we:

  • Remembered C. S. Lewis
  • Told readers why Christian low fee schools were the big winners from Gonski
  • Investigated Christian internet dating experiences
  • Met the Christian refugees from the “morning Star” movement of Irian Jaya
  • Read the Bible with Aussie Christians
  • Got inside the minds of Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd
  • Debated whether the world hates us as Christians or just thinks we are strange
  • Reminded ourselves that the Bible reveals God to us in his Son, Jesus

Eternity

Bible Society Australia’s Christian news service, Eternity, continued to publish daily news stories, testimonies, book and movie reviews and opinion pieces on the Bible Society website in 2013. It has proven a valuable way of attracting visitors to the Bible Society website, with 37 per cent of page views across the Bible Society website suite attributed to Eternity News stories.

Most popular stories in 2013:

  • I’m a Christian, and my house just burned down
  • An atheists point of view: why Christians aren’t being heard
  • US TV hit series ‘The Bible’ comes to Channel Nine

The Bible TV Series in Australia

Bible Society Australia CEO joined with John Dickson from Centre For Public Christianity to give short commentaries on each episode of The Bible TV miniseries that premiered on Australian TVs in July 2013.

Produced by Mark Burnett, who also produced popular television brands including Survivor and The Apprentice, The Bible was a 10-part TV miniseries from Genesis through to Revelation.

With a special series on our Daily Bible subscriber emails, social media updates and competitions and the Greg Clarke/John Dickson videos, Bible Society encouraged thousands of Australians to read the Bible while they watched the TV series, making full use of our digital channels.

For more: biblesociety.org.au/the-bible-tv-series

2013 Federal Election Guide

Bible Society Australia and Eternity News developed a 2013 Federal Election guide, looking at the topics Christians were interested in during the lead up to the election, outlining party policies and commentary from both sides of the political fence on issues including refugees and asylum seekers, education, same sex marriage, climate change, indigenous, unemployment, abortion and disability care. The Election Guide was one of the most popular places on the Bible Society Australia website in 2013, with over 38,000 page views in 2013.