About The Loved Bible Project
Our Mission
The Loved Bible Project is a tool designed to help ordinary people make disciples through the use of the Bible.
Our Vision
We aim to be an ever-growing, biblically-literate global community of men and women who love God’s Word and share it with others. By delighting in the Scriptures, we seek to honor God, make much of Jesus, and trust the Holy Spirit’s power in helping others find insightful joy in the pages of God’s Word.
What We Believe
The Loved Bible Project believes discipleship is done best through the local church. We hope to serve the church by providing a tool that makes the Bible central in sharing the gospel and making disciples of Jesus while building biblical literacy and gospel fluency. We encourage local church involvement and accountability while participating in The Loved Bible Project.
We believe in being a good steward of The Loved Bible Project and that it is best done under the oversight and accountability of the local church. Our core beliefs and values align with those of Advance Community Church in Mars, PA.
Our Story
How did The Loved Bible Project start?
Well, it started with a potty.
Anne Marie reflects on years walking past homeless men and women in downtown Pittsburgh. She would purposefully avoid any visual contact and then wrestle with God over this growing conviction. When she became aware of a bathroom problem under the bridge, God prompted Anne Marie to step out of her comfort zone. She bought a camping potty. “There you go, God. I saw the need and met it. Leave me alone,” she thought.
God compassionately pressed on her heart, persisting with what she already knew deep down: the gospel wasn’t going to be proclaimed through a potty. True life and hope would not be found by solving a bathroom problem. The Christian life could not be reduced to checking off a list of good deeds. Lasting joy is only truly found in the good news of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.
So, with a compact-sized Bible, Anne Marie highlighted passages and added prayers and notes pointing to Jesus and his gospel. She gave the potty and the Bible to the people under the bridge.
A homeless man came back to the bridge one day, looking for “The Potty Lady.” He asked for more. But not more potties; he was looking for more Bibles, ones that had been “loved.” The care and thoughtfulness put into those prayers, notes, and highlighted verses had a profound impact on him. He and his friends wanted more of God’s cherished Word.
After not being able to ‘love’ enough Bibles, Anne Marie started gathering friends, who gathered their friends, who gathered their churches, and well, here you are! They started working on ‘The Loved Bible Project.’
They were loving. They were giving. But they weren’t really investing in people. God showed them how this project must not end with simply loving or giving a Bible. They needed to go with the Bible.
To truly follow Jesus’ command in Matthew 28, they needed to walk alongside others and grow in God’s Word, helping them navigate the pages of Scripture and meet Jesus.
And what about those men and women facing homelessness in Pittsburgh? “I was soon able to call them my friends. I would take a Loved Bible and open it up. We would talk about it together. My actions and my words said, ‘Come, meet my friend Jesus.’”
What began as an uncomfortable step of obedience has become a global movement to know God and make him known through His Word.
The project is not just helpful for a homeless friend. It is meant to be a tool of transformation and discipleship for anyone God has put in your life. He or she may be a colleague under the weight of pressure at work, a suffering friend, an acquaintance struggling with family relationships, an elderly neighbor, a classmate celebrating new life, a mom in the trenches, a lonely teen. The Loved Bible Project has become a tool to better love and come alongside one another, equipping people to see the God of the Bible in all seasons of life. To begin, all you need is an expectant heart, asking God to show himself to you through the gift of his Word.
The Team
Anne Marie
Founder & Executive Director
Anne Marie Emswiler oversees the internal and external operations for The Loved Bible Project. She is passionate about God’s Word and helping others encounter Jesus through the Scriptures. God convicted her to step beyond her own comfort, guiding her to humbly follow him on this project.
Anne Marie is a natural visionary and problem-solver, and God has transformed these talents for his glory. She is a wife, mom to five kids. If she’s not driving and watching youth sports, she loves inviting people over for intentional questions over a cup of coffee.
Heather
Content Director
Heather Prentice develops the content for the TLBP workbook, worksheets, communications and social media posts, pouring through books and resources to curate culturally relevant, Christ-exalting material. She loves to serve others behind-the-scenes, watching how God creatively uses her to meet tangible needs of people around her. Heather is a pastor’s wife, mom to five daughters, and a speed-reader.
Creative Team
Our social media is fueled by a great team of content creators who also share Loved Bibles.
- Malea
- Amber
- Heather
- Christie
- Julie
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board provides doctrinal oversight and accountability, ensuring faithfulness to God’s Word.
- Scott Prentice, Advance Community Church, Pastor and Elder
- Jeff Crouse, Advance Community Church, Elder