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VOICES History
As a global Christian ministry with the mission “to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all,” Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM) believes in the importance of recognizing and championing the oneness-in-diversity of God’s kingdom.
In 2012, Rick DeHaan, then president of ODBM, teamed up with Dr. Matthew Parker to enhance ODBM’s impact in fulfilling its mission to Black communities. This collaboration proved highly effective, achieving significant progress. Within a few years, ODBM brought on an executive editor for the Voices Collection and began publishing books and devotionals that elevated the work of previously underrepresented Black Christian writers and authors.
The work gained momentum when new leadership began at Our Daily Bread Publishing, significantly extending the reach of what is now called VOICES. In 2021, the initiative expanded into media with the launch of the Where Ya From? podcast, followed by the Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom film in 2022. In 2023, these efforts were further bolstered by a $1.25 million Lilly Endowment Grant awarded to the Thriving Black Church Initiative to support major Black denominations disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This progress has led to substantial growth in engagement with diverse communities, establishing VOICES as a model for ODBM’s outreach, now extending to Hispanic and Chinese ministries.
The Vision —
A Catalyst for Change
The Mission —
To Uplift & Inspire All
Why VOICES?
Our goal is to co–create biblically grounded, contextually relevant content with Black communities that celebrates the richness of human experience, honoring both the unity we share in Christ and the diversity within humanity. Amplifying these unique voices contributes to the insights all communities can learn from the Scriptures.
We do this from a framework we call oneness-in-diversity. This framework highlights the following convictions:
- We believe humans are valuable. We are all made in the Image of God (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8).
- We believe humans can be united. Believers are one in Christ (John 17:21; Ephesians 4:1-16).
- We believe we should work toward restoration. It anticipates God’s global plans. (Revelation 21:1-5)
VOICES Commitments
We remain faithful and unwavering in our commitment to historic, biblical Christianity and its teaching that Scripture is infallible, that salvation is in Christ alone, and that human diversity is to be celebrated as a reflection of God’s image. This reliance on the Scriptures has nurtured and sustained us over generations, and we believe that holding to them will continue to strengthen us in the future. Therefore we embrace the following commitments:
Contextualization is the process of tailoring both form and content with the audience in mind. VOICES aims to highlight the Bible’s relevance within Black communities.
Communities affected by injustice naturally seek to understand God’s word about justice. Justice is a central theme in the Bible, making it essential for VOICES to emphasize its importance.
We have a unique story of God’s faithfulness to tell – a story that has carried us from enslavement to freedom, and from struggle to thriving. The hope we cling to today is inspired by these stories of deliverance and redemption passed down through the generations. It’s a story of resilience worth celebrating!
In this spirit, VOICES remains committed to creating content that platforms the stories and insights of those whose biblical insights and testimonies can encourage faith in the God of the Bible across the globe. All of this is done to help us contribute to the vision we see unfolding at the culmination of the biblical story:
After this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)
This passage gives us a glimpse of heaven. While the immediate context is the sixth seal, judgment, and martyred believers crying out for judgment, the passage points to the end of time when all those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are gathered before the Father (Revelation 21:24, 26). The passage depicts the diverse multitudes praising with loud and distinct voices. That vision inspires and motivates us to help lift every voice today!
Visit the link to learn more about Our Daily Bread Ministries or to read our Statement of Beliefs.
Our People —
Meet the Team
