Biblios

Who's behind Biblios?

Alice studied English Literature at Oxford University. Whilst teaching Shakespeare to undergraduates in the third year of her PhD, Alice realised her real desire was to teach the truth that would set people free. She stopped her PhD there and has been developing Biblios since. Alice is married to Chris. They have three children. Together they pastor Hope Community Church in Bristol. Biblios Adventure Ltd is a registered company: 11740004

Biblios has been a team effort from the very beginning. The dream simply wouldn't have been possible without a community of creative and inspirational people (who are all way more talented than me) saying yes to partnering with this dream and making Biblios a reality. Here is our story!

Our full story

"Turn what is black and white into colour"

Over ten years ago I had a short fleeting dream of a flash of colour, accompanied by the impression: ‘turn what is black and white into colour’. Up until this point I had been teaching the Bible through handing people bits of paper with words on them. But I had felt frustrated: something was missing. I knew this wasn’t the primary way people learned.

Learning through play

I wanted people to understand how well the library of books that we have come to call the Bible all fit together; to discover how all the biblical places relate to each other by looking at maps; to appreciate the dynamic impact of the rise and fall of dominant empires in the ancient world. In other words, I wanted people to feel the biblical narrative as one integrated, colourful whole, not just read bits of it. And I knew that the best way for people to absorb all of these elements, and more, was not by reading pieces of paper, but was through playing games, as we learn best through play.

“I can help you”

Sarah (Dickins) a product designer, working for a multinational at the time, saw my initial efforts: book cards on colourful pieces of paper; blue and green material for maps; and careful illustrations which Robyn, my friend who is an artist, had generously designed for every book in the Bible. From then on, Sarah faithfully partnered with me in transforming this fleeting dream into a viable product.

“Let’s capture the places through using satellite imagery”

After discussing for so long what material to use for the maps, Sarah’s idea to print photographs of the topography onto boards using satellite imagery brought together the desire to see the places on maps, with a board game feel.

“What is missing is the people: we need to see the people“

‘What is missing is the people: we need to see the people’. Sarah highlighted. So, we asked Zac (Crawley of Candour Creative) and Jon (Tyrell) if they would be able to travel to Israel and Palestine and take 70 photos for our people cards. Navigating adventures on the way, they returned with photos beautifully capturing the gist of the humanity of the biblical narrative. And if you look carefully – you can spot their faces amongst the 70!

“You need to film on location“

My brother (who lives in China, but who had briefly returned to the UK) said, having taken one look at the new Alpha videos. We had been wrestling with whether I needed to be in the product at all. Could people simply buy a box and learn as community together without my input? But when my brother spoke, I knew that, at the very least, for visual kinaesthetic learners simply seeing the landscape of Israel would aid their learning. So, Chris and I travelled together with Daniel (Krenzer) to film on location in Israel and Rome; and then Chris and I travelled together with our editor Freddie (Reed) to complete the filming in Israel (2019). During this trip, Freddie also took some extraordinary still photography, one image of which is now on the Biblios box.

“Would you be prepared to train someone up to teach Biblios?“

I had been teaching Biblios at Release Academy in Bristol for the previous two years. Release Academy is a Bethel ‘school of supernatural ministry’ hosted by Love Bristol community in Stokes Croft. This was the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle: I could test and see if anyone could facilitate Biblios, using the box and the videos. Sue not only fulfilled this role beautifully, but she also came up with such good ideas for games that they are now included in the course.

“Everyone is learner, everyone is a contributor“

This is the spirit and process of Biblios. I believe from the bottom of my heart, that not only can everyone learn the Bible, but also everyone can host the learning of the Bible. Biblios helps facilitate this transition in our thinking. I have had the immense privilege of working with a community of people who are a lot more talented than me. Led, at every step, and provided for, at every level, by the prompting of the Spirit of God, I have seen a fleeting impression become a reality. Biblios is literally a dream come true.