We want to see a world where everyone can encounter the Bible

The Patmos Initiative brings together people and organisations sharing one vision – a world where everyone encounters the Bible, is empowered to explore it and experiences the impact it can have on lives and communities. We call this Bible Engagement.

A critical moment

We are reaching a point in history where most of the world’s population will have access to the biblical text in a language they can understand.

The Patmos Initiative aims to mobilise a global coalition of brilliant minds, pioneers, strategists, investors, creators and every possible expert for the critical phase of Bible mission we are approaching. The Patmos Initiative seeks to prepare this global coalition for the next frontier of Bible translation: translating the text into human understanding, behaviour and attitudes. It’s a transformational shift that the Bible itself describes as writing not merely onto stony tablets but into people’s ‘minds and hearts’. To make this a reality we must first grasp what is in people’s minds and hearts across the world. That’s why we launched The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Survey.

A man walking outside and holding a Bible. He is wearing a white head wrap and robe.

The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Survey

150 countries analysed | 89 languages | 90,000 people surveyed

Conducted in partnership with Gallup, The Patmos Survey analyses the missiological context of 150 countries, exploring the religious attitudes and beliefs of 90,000 people in 85 countries, providing world class data, and establishing a new understanding of how people relate to the Bible.

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Patmos – a shared framework

The roots of this vision lie 2,000 years ago

On the island of Patmos the Bible tells us seven short letters were written to churches in seven distinct contexts revealing a deeper insight into the spiritual condition of their Christian communities. The encouragement and challenges of those piercing insights continue to agitate the imagination of many communities to this day. Similarly, the missiological and audience insights revealed by The Patmos Survey will shape a shared imagination and framework for mission. This shared framework will enable collaboration and innovation across different approaches to become meaningful and fruitful for generations to come, so that the whole world encounters the Bible.

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