As we prepare for 2015, our 10th year of ministry, I wanted to share some highlights from 2014.
But first, as you consider your year-end giving, I want to join Tim Keller and Don Carson and invite you to partner with us as a Friend of TGC. As we steward the opportunity to grow gospel-centered ministry around the globe, we are asking the Lord for $600,000 in annual support from you, our friends and readers.
To receive a tax-deductible receipt for your 2014 taxes, you can give by:
- making your gift online by clicking here before midnight on December 31
- sending a check made out to “The Gospel Coalition”—postmarked no later than December 31—to the following address:
The Gospel Coalition
Office of Advancement
P.O. Box 583542
Minneapolis, MN 55458-3542
- making a gift of stock—you can learn more by clicking here.
If you have any questions about giving or would like to speak with someone about our work, don’t hesitate to contact Dan Olson, director of advancement, at 612-460-5402.
We have heard from so many of you that God is using TGC to equip you as you minister in your community. Partner with us by giving here this end-of-year as we come alongside Christians worldwide and help them minister to theirs.
Happy New Year,
Ben Peays
Executive Director
Events
TGC hosted ten events attended by 12,000 people on site and tens of thousands more online. These included our Council Members Colloquium in April, our National Women’s Conference in Orlando (June 27 to 29), more than eight regional chapter conferences (Hawaii, Prince Edward Island, Canada, Boston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Bay Area, and others) and an international conference in Geneva, Switzerland (making more than 44 events since May 2005). Following protests in Ferguson and New York we sponsored the “Time to Speak” event at the historic Lorraine Motel and National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Next year will see the official launch of TGC Australia as well as continued work by similar groups in Poland, Germany, and Switzerland.
Website
We have welcomed nearly 12.5 million unique visitors to TGC.org in 2014, a 32 percent increase over 2013—with more than 42 million pageviews. These solid gospel-centered resources promote and defend biblical beliefs and historic theological truths. I encourage you to read Collin Hansen’s list of 10 favorite TGC resources from 2014 and his ranking of the top 10 theology stories of the year.
Our French website continues to gain strength, and in 2015 the new TGC Australia Council will launch its Australian website. Our Spanish-language site, Coalición por el Evangelio, has seen a traffic explosion in the year last with 1.5 million unique visitors; in November pageviews increased 1,300 percent compared to November 2013. And we are gearing up for a Spanish line of church curriculum in 2015. The top international internet traffic cities in 2014 were Sydney, London, Singapore, Melbourne, Toronto, Brisbane, Santa Domingo, Mexico City, and Vancouver.
Publishing Resources
We published several new resources in 2014, including two Bible study programs for women: Rebuild: A Study in Nehemiah, written by Kathleen Nielson and featuring video teaching by Don Carson and Nancy Guthrie; and Jen Wilkin’s Sermon on the Mount, which features her keen insights previously shared through her popular Bible studies in Dallas. Forthcoming studies including Praying with Paul by Don Carson and Brian Tabb and What Jesus Demands from the World from John Piper and Brian Tabb. We have also planned a new line of group studies designed to help churches instill theological vision of ministry, starting with their worship and outreach.
Free International Book Distribution
In 2014, you helped us equip indigenous pastors by delivering more than 90,000 books in 10 different languages to 77 different countries around the world. Your Packing Hope efforts provide Theological Famine Relief to the global church, and physical books are so important for those countries that don’t have easy internet access. In God’s mercy, the lifetime output of the International Outreach effort will surpass 500,000 resources distributed in the near future.
Non-English Global Resource Library
We increased our internal translation team to 80 translators and added thousands of new resources to our free database in 40 different languages—with a focus on Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and Arabic.
To support TGC and expand these various initiatives in 2015, you can become a Friend of TGC here. If you have any questions about giving or would like to speak with someone about our work, don’t hesitate to contact Dan Olson, director of advancement, at 612-460-5402 or [email protected].
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
