American Bible Society (ABS) has been providing Bibles to America’s military forces for over 200 years. In recent years, their Armed Services Ministry has increased their resources for servicemembers and veterans, including videos, books, trauma healing courses, and more.
Recently, ABS launched Hero Squad, which sends free quarterly gift boxes to military children. Through Bible-based activities, the boxes help kids navigate the unique challenges of deployments, moves, and more. Hero Squad kids receive age-appropriate Bibles, Military-specific devotionals, gifts, journals, family activities, and more. When you enroll, each child in your home receives a Welcome box. Then, Hero Squad boxes are delivered every three months, filled with new devotionals, gifts, and seasonal activities.
These boxes are tailored for ages 3 through 17, with each age group receiving different gifts. Any child who lives in the continental U.S. and has one or more parents currently serving in the U.S. Military is eligible for the boxes. They are completely free and are funded by donors. The boxes are available to families of any religion; you do not have to be an actively practicing Christian or belong to a church.
You can enroll your children here, and if you’d like to donate to fund Hero Squad’s mission, you can do so here.
The U.S. military forces are made up of diverse religions, beliefs, backgrounds, ethnicities, races, and genders. But the tradition of giving Bibles to servicemembers has had a great impact. In a survey of more than 1,000 active-duty servicemembers and veterans, 80% of respondents indicated they did not have a Bible when they entered the military, 83% said they were given a Bible while in the service, and 89% of those who received a Bible kept it. Currently, one-third of active duty military and veterans read the Bible at least once a week.
Now, that tradition has continued to kids. And for those parents who want to engage with the Bible alongside their kids, the American Bible Society is challenging 500,000 members of the military community to read the Bible 20 minutes a day for 75 days, starting on January 1. You can sign up here to be part of the challenge.
Servicemembers and veterans can order a Bible free here. Military wives can also order the free Journey of a Military Wife Series, a set of four books that address the fear, uncertainty, and loss that so many military wives experience.
