Open Window Foundation
Open Window Foundation is the 501(c)3 Non-Profit Foundation (EIN# 20-4727568) that was setup in 2006 to administer the Operation Worship Bible distribution project. The Foundation is the owner of the registered trademarks “OPERATION WORSHIP®” and “MONKEY COMMANDO®”. So when you hear of the Operation Worship Bible project you are hearing about the Trade Name “Operation Worship”, one of the ministries administered by Open Window Foundation.
Intro To Open Window Foundation: Operation Worship®
God has been absolutely amazing. As you read through these details, keep in mind that in late 2005, we had absolutely no intention of distributing Bibles to the Military. God not only put this mission on our hearts, but also provided everything we have needed to carry out His wishes.Operation Worship is a ministry that began in early 2006 as a Christian Music Tour of military bases all over the United States. We started out in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and continued to the Pentagon, Ft. Hood, Texas, Ft. Polk, Louisiana, Ft. Lewis, Washington, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and 5 trips to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. But even though these concerts were very successful, God obviously had a bit of a different plan.
While we were visiting Ft. Hood, Texas in 2006, I visited with a Chaplain who had just returned from his tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was moved to ask him what resources are at the top of his list when it comes to items that could easily be supplied by Americans free of charge? In other words, what items are most important within your ministry? His answer was quite a surprise. He said that when he performed a church service every Sunday morning in the desert out of the back of his HumVee, about 50 soldiers normally attended. They sang Hymns with no instruments there in the middle of the active war, worshipped God and were blessed continually. But in these services at that time, only a handful of soldiers had Bibles. I was under the mistaken assumption that Bibles were everywhere at US Bases. That is somewhat true but most are New Testaments only in order to keep the size of the Bible small. But Chaplains made it clear that both the Old and New Testaments are quite important. People fighting for our country want to know why we are there. The Old Testament takes them through some of the history and solders are seeking after this information. I realized that this was a reachable goal and decided to pursue the Chaplain’s request. I immediately contacted a good friend of mine at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and asked for as many Bibles as they could send me for the first deployment. They had 6,500 Billy Graham Study Bibles, and shipped them immediately and they were all received. Just afterward, we were schedule to work backstage at Spirit West Coast in Monterey, California. God put the idea in our hearts to take all of the Bibles with us, and have each one of the inside front covers signed with a message of encouragement by people attending the concerts.
The results were astounding! People donated over $10,000 during that concert to the Operation Worship cause and those funds were used to assist us in launching the project. All 6,500 Bibles were signed and ready to ship. We returned all of the bibles to our warehouse and had a team of volunteers read every message to make sure that there were no discouraging or inappropriate messages. Then, all of the Bibles were shipped to the Chaplain at Ft. Hood. In a Fort Hood deployment of 45,000 soldiers within a few days of their arrival, the Bibles were placed next to the aircraft as solders were boarding to head to the war zones. The personal distribution of Bibles is legal and acceptable within the military but only under the control of a local Base Chaplain, and the Bibles can only be made available by leaving them in an area where a soldier can pick one up. As the soldiers boarded the planes at Fort Hood, 99% of them picked up these Bibles and they were completely gone on the first day. The Base Chaplain called and asked for 50,000 more. This was the first launch of Bibles by Open Window Foundation.
Immediately after, Tyndale House Publishers was advised of the vision and what occured at Fort Hood with the Bibles donated by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. They met with their Executive Management team briefly and decided to partner with us by providing sales channels through their distribution network of Christian bookstores. People were able to buy the Bibles at the store and our Foundation was able to pay for the freight charges to get them back to our warehouse for deployment.
Many things have occurred since then but in short, Operation Worship® has deployed over 1.7 Million Bibles from its facility. There are Six (6) Bible cover types including Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and a Pink Camo covered “Homefront” Edition.
Our Mission
To further God’s touch by enriching the spiritual lives of military personnel and their families with opportunities for worship, discipleship, and spiritual growth in Jesus Christ through contemporary Christian music concerts and the distribution of FREE Operation Worship Bibles to any Active Duty or Retired Member of any of the Armed Services and their families.
Non Profit Foundation Overview
Open Window Foundation Inc was formed by Jeff and Patti Hilliard, as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit Foundation to provide free Bibles to military personnel and their families on military installations worldwide.
Free Bibles to the Military
Military Chaplains can request free NLT camo covered Bibles for the service members they serve. There is an edition for military branches including a pink camo Homefront edition.