Evangelical Alliance

Now I know the greatest story ever told   

If a picture paints a thousand words, Rachel Valler's photo tells of the greatest story ever told.  

Rachel has been named winner of a photographic competition launched by Biblefresh, a year-long project catalysed by the Evangelical Alliance that brings together more than a hundred agencies to support churches in their efforts to teach scripture. 

Entrants were asked to write a caption starting with the words 'Now I….' explaining how the Bible has changed their world with a photo to illustrate the theme. 

Standing behind a row of books, Rachel's reads "Now I am part of the story". Rachel described the Bible as being 'full of the stories of people and their journey with God'  

Rachel says: "I love that the lives we live today are part of that same story - God's story - and that through Jesus and his living Spirit in our world, God is a part of all our stories." Rachel has won an Apple iPad for her efforts. 

Paul Keeys' photo of he and his team brandishing the sign 'Now I am washed clean' as they stand covered in mud at the Dead Sea has earned him second prize and an Amazon Kindle. 

The special youth prize of a Nintendo Wii went to Abigail Cook. Abigail, 15, was inspired into action after hearing reports from her father's trip to a charity for street children in Kolkata, India. Her sign "Now I know stuff isn't important" supports her decision not to place so much value on shopping and acquiring things. 

Abigail, who won the Youth prize, said: "We have so much stuff in this country, but Jesus said "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15 NIV)'. 

Krish Kandiah, executive director for England and churches in mission for the Alliance said: "We were heartened by the level and quality of entries that poured in from as far as the USA. We hope that these photos will inspire other people to consider the many ways of deepening their understanding of the Bible as each one tells an entirely different story from a unique point of view." 

To view all the pictures, visit http://www.facebook.com/biblefresh or www.biblefresh.com