What Fellowship Baptists are saying

"The You’ve Got the Time initiative of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship gives congregations a significant opportunity for a new and powerful encounter with the Scriptures. We have become so accustomed to reading the Scriptures ourselves that we lose sight of the truth that most Christians through the centuries have not encountered the Bible on a printed page, but instead through the dynamic acts of public reading and hearing. So, as we hear the Scriptures read aloud in this new venture, we will stand with ancient Hebrews who heard the stories of Abraham and the words of the Prophets. We will take our place next to the first Christians, who encountered gathered in house churches and heard Paul’s letters and other texts read in the assembly. And we will also stand in solidarity with Christians around the world who still meet the Scriptures through hearing. As our Fellowship seeks greater engagement with the Global Church, it is important that we come to the Scriptures as they do."

Paul A. Baxley, pastor, First Baptist Church, Henderson, N.C.

"The Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is a fellowship of churches and individuals who share a commitment to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.  We are seeking to do three things:  provide opportunities for fellowship, provide resources to congregations and engage in missions.  This week, the launch of You’ve Got the Time helped us accomplish all three goals, simultaneously.  More than 30 church leaders, representing 15 congregations, gathered to hear about this dynamic resource.  We learned how it could enrich and encourage people in our respective congregations.  We also learned that congregations that participate in You've Got the Time will have an opportunity to provide audio versions of the New Testament to people around the world – linking hands with CBF field personnel – to provide God’s Word in people’s heart language."

John Lepper, Coordinator, Kentucky Baptist Fellowship

"We live in a world that communicates in 140 character tweets and Facebook statuses that are one sentence long. It's no wonder that the youth balked one Wednesday night when I challenged them to listen to the Bible for 28 minutes a day for the next 40 days. The follow Sunday I was hearing a different tune as the youth were talking about their favorite parts of the Scripture. One youth told me that she listened to the entire book of Matthew before stopped the disk. It wasn't only the youth that I was hearing comments from. One parent asked me what I bribed their youth with to listen to the Bible. A couple of other parents told me that they had been listening to the Bible together as a family. There were even several members of our congregation not directly connected to the youth group that had heard the youth talking about the Bible on MP3 disk and asked if they could get a copy as well. But I knew that listening to the Bible on MP3 had truly been transformational when I asked for the MP3 disks back and several of the youth told me that they had already passed them on to someone else to listen to. The Bible on MP3 truly allowed the youth to hear the Bible."

Jeremy Colliver, Minister with Youth, Faith Baptist Church, Georgetown, Ky. 

"This project coincides beautifully with our congregation's strategic emphasis to teach basic beliefs, so it is a natural fit for us. Encouraging people to hear the spoken word of God is as basic as it gets, and we believe this will lay a firm foundation for years to come."

Mark Wingfield, associate pastor, Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas

Testimonies

You've Got the Time has made a difference in the lives of Christians around the country. See these testimonies from the thousands of churches who have participated.