Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread is a Christian devotional brand centered on a small, calendar-style booklet that provides a short Bible-based reading for each day. The publication combines a selected Scripture verse with an article offering reflection on Christian faith, discipleship, prayer, character, and everyday life. It is designed for regular personal use rather than for a single course of study, and its daily format has helped make it one of the most widely circulated Christian devotional publications. The title refers to the phrase “Give us this day our daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer. Although the publication is associated with a non-denominational Christian ministry, its editorial purpose is broader than the distribution of a printed booklet. Our Daily Bread Ministries presents the devotional as part of a wider network of Bible-reading and faith resources that includes books, radio and television programming, podcasts, video, DVDs, websites, mobile applications, and related study materials. The brand’s institutional roots reach back to the Detroit Bible Class, a radio program established in 1938 under the leadership of Dr. M. R. DeHaan. As the program’s audience expanded, it became known as Radio Bible Class in 1941. The organization later broadened beyond broadcasting: it introduced the Our Daily Bread booklet in April 1956 and adopted the name RBC Ministries in 1994. In 2015, the ministry changed its name again to Our Daily Bread Ministries, aligning the organization more closely with its best-known publication and international work. International distribution has been a central part of the brand’s development. A United Kingdom office opened in Carnforth in 1987 to support circulation in Europe, followed by offices and distribution operations in Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Spain, Ireland, and Germany. The publication has subsequently been made available in more than 55 languages, either directly or through ministry partners. European-language editions have included English, Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Russian, and Ukrainian, while partner arrangements have supported additional languages. The brand has also moved from print into digital delivery. Its first website appeared in 1995, allowing the ministry to distribute devotional material online. A multilingual mobile application launched in 2011, extending the daily-reading model to smartphones and other mobile devices. The organization reports that its broader resource operation reaches millions of people, produces tens of millions of resources, and operates through staff and offices in multiple countries. The booklet has even been carried into space, when a copy traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2002. Our Daily Bread remains a faith-based, nonprofit publishing and media brand rather than a publicly traded consumer-goods company. Its positioning is built on accessibility, routine, international reach, and an emphasis on practical Christian living. The central promise is consistent daily encouragement grounded in the Bible, delivered through a mixture of printed and digital formats. The ministry continues to describe its purpose as sharing the message of God’s love with people around the world.

The history of Our Daily Bread begins with a radio ministry rather than a publishing house. In 1938, Dr. M. R. DeHaan led a program known as the Detroit Bible Class. As its audience grew, the broadcast adopted the name Radio Bible Class in 1941. The organization’s early work focused on communicating Christian teaching through radio, but its mission gradually expanded into print and other forms of religious communication. Our Daily Bread was first published in April 1956. The booklet established the format that continues to define the brand: a sequence of daily entries, each combining a Bible verse with a brief devotional article. The writing addresses biblical themes and practical Christian living, and the publication has used a range of contributors rather than relying on a single authorial voice. It also incorporates additional Scripture references for readers following the ministry’s Bible In One Year reading program. As circulation expanded, the ministry developed an international distribution structure. In 1987, it opened an office in Carnforth, United Kingdom, to support distribution of Our Daily Bread and related Bible-reading materials across Europe. Further offices followed in Minsk, Belarus, in 1994; Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1997; and Smolensk, Russia, in 2005. These operations helped support publication and distribution in Russian and other regional languages. Spain received a dedicated office in 2003, Dublin followed in 2006, and a German office opened in 2016. The institution also changed its identity as its activities moved beyond broadcasting. In 1994, Radio Bible Class became RBC Ministries, signaling that the organization had become a broader ministry. In 1995, it launched its first website and began making its resources available in digital form. The transition to new media continued with a multilingual Our Daily Bread application in 2011. These changes allowed the daily devotional concept to be used through phones, websites, and other digital channels in addition to print. A notable symbolic episode occurred in 2002, when a copy of Our Daily Bread traveled aboard the United States Space Shuttle Atlantis. The event drew attention to the booklet’s broad cultural and religious reach, although the brand’s principal distribution remained through churches, ministry networks, direct requests, offices, and digital platforms. In 2015, RBC Ministries adopted the name Our Daily Bread Ministries. This final rebranding connected the parent ministry with its best-known publication while preserving the organization’s wider portfolio of Christian resources. The ministry describes itself as non-denominational and nonprofit. Its activities now include devotional publishing, books, radio and television programming, podcasts, videos, DVDs, websites, and mobile applications. Our Daily Bread is distributed internationally in more than 55 languages, directly or through partner ministries. The organization has reported activity in more than 150 countries, with staff and operations spread across numerous national offices. Its resources are intended to support individual Bible reading and devotional practice, and the brand’s ongoing strategy has been to make the same daily spiritual routine available in whichever format and language best suits its audience.

• 2016

  German office opens

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  A German office is established to serve German-speaking readers internationally.

• 2015

  RBC Ministries renamed Our Daily Bread Ministries

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  The parent organization adopts the name of its best-known devotional brand.

• 2011

  Multilingual mobile app introduced

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  The devotional becomes available through a mobile application in multiple languages.

• 2002

  Booklet travels aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  A copy of Our Daily Bread is carried into space aboard Atlantis.

• 1995

  First website launches

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  The ministry begins distributing its resources online.

• 1994

  Organization becomes RBC Ministries

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  The name change reflects the ministry’s expansion beyond its origins as a radio broadcaster.

• 1987

  European distribution office opens in the United Kingdom

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  An office in Carnforth supports distribution of devotional and Bible-reading materials across Europe.

• 1956

  First Our Daily Bread booklet published

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  The first issue appears in April, establishing the daily devotional format that becomes the ministry’s signature offering.

• 1941

  Radio Bible Class name adopted

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  The growing radio program becomes known as Radio Bible Class.

• 1938

  Detroit Bible Class begins broadcasting

  [1]Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org

  M. R. DeHaan leads the Detroit Bible Class, the radio ministry that later develops into the organization behind Our Daily Bread.

An accessible, non-denominational Christian devotional and media brand providing daily Bible-based reflection through print, web, mobile, audio, and video formats.

• Christian devotional publication · 1956

  Our Daily Bread devotional booklet

  The core Our Daily Bread product is a calendar-style booklet with a daily Bible verse and a concise reflection on Christian faith and living. Entries are written by a range of contributors and are intended for regular personal reading. The booklet also provides additional Scripture references for readers using the Bible In One Year plan. It is published in more than 55 languages through the ministry and partner networks.

• Mobile devotional application · 2011

  Our Daily Bread mobile application

  The mobile application adapts the daily devotional experience for smartphones and other mobile devices. It provides access to daily readings in multiple languages and forms part of the ministry’s broader shift from a primarily printed publication toward digital distribution. The application supports recurring engagement with Scripture and devotional commentary without requiring the physical booklet.

• Bible-reading guide

  Bible In One Year reading program

  The Bible In One Year program complements the daily devotional by directing readers to additional Scripture passages over the course of a year. It gives the booklet a structured reading dimension beyond the short daily article and helps users combine devotional reflection with a broader plan for reading the Bible.

• Christian media

  Our Daily Bread digital and media resources

  The wider brand ecosystem includes online articles and readings, podcasts, radio and television broadcasts, video, DVDs, and Christian books. These formats extend the ministry’s daily devotional and Bible-teaching approach to audiences that may prefer listening, watching, or reading digitally rather than using the printed booklet.

• 2015

  Align the ministry’s name with its flagship publicationStrategy

  Background

  Our Daily Bread had become the organization’s internationally recognized devotional identity.

  Action taken

  RBC Ministries adopted the name Our Daily Bread Ministries.

  Aftermath

  The rebrand connected the parent organization more directly with its principal publication while retaining its wider portfolio of Christian media and publishing activities.

  Source

• 2011

  Move the devotional experience to mobile devicesProduct launch

  Background

  Digital delivery had become an important way to reach readers across languages and national markets.

  Action taken

  Our Daily Bread launched a multilingual mobile application.

  Aftermath

  The brand gained an additional distribution channel alongside its printed booklets, website, and broadcast media.

  Source

• 1994

  Broaden the organization beyond radio broadcastingStrategy

  Background

  The ministry had developed from a radio program into a broader publisher and Christian media organization.

  Action taken

  It changed its name from Radio Bible Class to RBC Ministries.

  Aftermath

  The new identity supported expansion into publishing, international distribution, websites, and other ministry formats.

  Source

1. 1Our Daily Bread (devotional)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Our Daily Bread Ministriesodb.org