Colleen, 81, has read the Today devotional “for as long as I can remember,” she says. It’s very possible she’s been using Today for 65 years.
Back to God Ministries International first produced Today (originally The Family Altar) in 1950. People listening to “The Back to God Hour” were begging for resources to help them and their families learn more about the Bible. The daily devotional met those needs for new believers . . . and many Christian Reformed families too.
Within months of that first printing, the subscription list grew to 40,000. By 1990—Today’s 40th anniversary—circulation was nearly 300,000.
Stories poured in from around the world. Today was blessing families and changing the lives of prison inmates in North America, seekers in Asia, and new believers in Africa. Today is also credited with helping launch new churches in West Africa.
Shay wrote, “I have been in and out of prison since I was 11 years old. I was raised in a church but strayed away. Now I’ve been reading the Word more. I have grown closer to God through your Today booklets. Thank you. Today has reopened my eyes and reunited me with the heavenly Father.”
Currently ReFrame Media, the English-language outreach of BTGMI, only prints about 200,000 Today booklets—but not because people are less interested in growing in faith.
Instead, using today’s technology—Internet, email, social media, and smart-phone apps—God’s Word is reaching an additional 314,000 Today readers.
And as these readers share the digital devotionals with their friends, that number is multiplied nearly every day.
“Thanks to support through ministry shares, Today is a strong connecting point for CRC members from almost every congregation in the U.S. and Canada as people read and reflect on the same Scripture and devotion each day,” said BTGMI director Rev. Kurt Selles.
“When you read these Today devotionals, you are part of a vast international family of believers and seekers who are blessed by God’s Word each day.”
Similar devotionals are produced by BTGMI in Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Indonesian.
For information about receiving Today by email, Facebook, Twitter, or smartphone app, visit today.reframemedia.com.
About the Author
Nancy Vander Meer is a staff writer with Back to God Ministries International in Grand Rapids, Mich.
