GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March, 2005 —Fans of EMI CMG/Sparrow’s internationally-renowned Christian recording artists, newsboys, have another reason to support the band and visit their website at www.newsboys.com .

Zondervan and newsboys recently announced a partnership that will make the New Testament of Today’s New International Version of the Bible, or TNIV, available on newsboys’ website as a PDF. And in April 2005, a newsboys’ song and a TNIV endorsement from lead singer Peter Furler will be included on the TNIV MP3 New Testament CD, which will be available in retail stores.

A TNIV endorsement from lead singer Peter Furler is currently included as an insert in the latest newsboys CD, devotion, as well as in the back of The Purple Book, which is a Bible study produced by newsboys and Every Nation. Several newsboys’ songs are also featured on the TNIV website at www.TNIV.com.

The TNIV is a new Bible translation published by Zondervan that released in both Old and New Testaments in February 2005. The TNIV, which was translated by the same committee that translated the world’s bestselling modern English translation, the NIV, will be published in creative, innovative formats to engage the hearts and minds of 18- to 34-year-olds. 

According to newsboys lead singer Peter Furler, engaging today’s generation with the Bible is incredibly important. “There was a time in my life when, even though I believed that Jesus was the way, I still felt lost. Even though I believed he was the truth, I didn’t have much truth in me. I believe this is right where the enemy wants each of us. A state where we know little of what God has said, leaving us captive to our own thoughts, robbing us of the strong foundation we need in order to thrive,” Furler said. ”The only foundation that will prevail is the one built on God’s Word. That’s why I’m proud to stand with Zondervan, bringing the Word to today’s generation. That’s why I believe so strongly in Today’s New International Version, the TNIV; a new translation that speaks the timeless truth of God’s Word in the language of today.”

A national Harris Interactive poll conducted last year found that 18- to 34-year-olds are highly receptive to the TNIV: 77 percent of them found the TNIV easier to understand than the NIV, and 72 percent of them found the text more readable.

“newsboys is a perfect partner for the TNIV, as they play before hundreds of thousands of 18- to 34-year-olds every year,” said Brad Doll, senior director of marketing for Zondervan’s 18- to 34-year-old Bible Group. “newsboys is just as passionate as we are about reaching today’s generation with a Bible translation that is incredibly accurate and incredibly readable. We’re extremely proud to be partnering with them.”

Zondervan has already released nine innovative TNIV Bibles with more in the works. Each TNIV Bible is designed specifically to reach 18- to 34-year-olds, both Christians and those spiritually-intrigued.  

A recent Harris Interactive poll sponsored by Zondervan showed that almost 60 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds believe the Bible is relevant to their lives, but more than half never read it or read it less than once a year.

For more information on the TNIV, visit www.TNIV.com. For more information on newsboys and to read the TNIV New Testament, visit www.newsboys.com.