Bringing Hope to Eastern Europe from Southlake
Imagine 2 million Bibles placed cover-to-cover on a bookshelf – a trail that would stretch from the Dragon Stadium all the way to the Cowboys Stadium! This is how many Bibles and Bible-based materials my non-profit ministry distributed throughout Eastern Europe in 2024.
I am a longtime Southlake resident and serve as the president and CEO of Eastern European Mission (EEM), a ministry that publishes, prints and distributes literature through a vast network of partner churches and organizations free of charge in order share God’s Word with people of Eastern Europe and beyond, seeking to educate and
inspire God’s servants in the Great Commission.
A snippet about me: I was involved in amateur radio from a young age. At the time, I found it interesting conversing with foreign citizens. Through my secondary education in engineering and business, I always thought about being able to provide hope and a moral ethos. In this, I began to conceptualize my future, thinking, what can one person do?
Then, in 2000, I partnered with two friends from church to start Character for Kids, a non-profit with the purpose of teaching Biblical ethics to students. This program grew steadily over the years, training thousands of school teachers and impacting tens of thousands of students in Ukraine, Lithuania, Croatia and Russia.
As a result of this partnership and God’s divine path, in 2015 after retirement, I was asked to take a leadership position at EEM. I am blessed to be here, serving others in a ministry that is changing the world, life by life, through the power of God’s Word.
A peek into EEM:
EEM started over 60 years ago to deliver Bibles to Christians in Eastern Europe. From meager beginnings of only a few hundred books a year, EEM now delivers millions of books to individuals, families, youth camps, public schools, prisons, orphanages and hospitals in this region of the world.
Eastern Europeans have turned to God’s Word for foundational hope. Results are growing church attendance, an openness to Bible education in public schools, and stories of transformed individuals and nations.
As co-residents of Southlake, you and I understand the impact of great schools. Likewise, EEM has partnered with the leadership in a number of these nations to reach their youngest generations, including in Ukraine, where approximately 75% of public schools now offer Bibles and elective Bible courses. Consequently, in the Ukrainian states where the Bible has been introduced and taught, test scores have increased, and
disciplinary problems have decreased, ultimately changing the trajectory of these children’s lives for the better. EEM’s tagline encapsulates our vision: “The Bible, We Want Everyone to Get It!” We want to get it in their hands, then read it to get it into their minds, and finally, to get it
written on their hearts to share with others.
God laid a vision on my heart for Eastern Europe all that time ago. That radically different perspective, where the gospel message is the costliest, moved me to actional faith and spiritual camaraderie. The impact our Southlake supporters and partners have made in this global effort has
been invaluable. Therefore, I urge you to also get involved—both locally and beyond—as churches, ministries and individuals work to provide Bibles to our community and around the world. Likewise, if you or your church are working in Eastern Europe or Central Asia, contact me if you need free Bibles and biblical literature to gift the Word of God to others.
A Note about EEM's Visionary Founder Bob Burckle:
Bob Burckle is President of EEM (Eastern European Mission), which has been delivering God’s Word to the people of Eastern Europe since 1961. Today, EEM publishes and prints Bibles and New Testaments as well as Teen Bibles, Children’s Bibles and coloring books, distributing them through a vast network of partner churches and organizations reaching 36+ countries in 32+ different languages.
To learn more, visit eem.org or call 817-849-2355.
To hear miraculous accounts of transformation, check out the 55:11 Podcast, detailing powerful testimonies of those changed by God’s Word.