| MILESTONES |
ACHIEVEMENTS |
| 1955: BOLD BEGINNINGS |
Brother Andrew smuggles Bibles into Eastern Europe for the first time. |
| 1956: BEETLE DRIVE |
Brother Andrew makes the first of many tips to the Soviet in his blue Volkswaen Beetle which was to travel over 200,000 miles. |
| 1955-78: EXPANSION |
Open Doors expands its network throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to bring Bibles and encouragement to persecuted Christians. |
| 1967: GOD'S SMUGGLER PUBLISHED |
Brother Andrew's biography, God's Smuggler, becomes one of the best-selling Christian books of all time. It is published the following year in the UK and is now published in 35 languages. |
| 1970: OPEN DOORS IN THE UK (GATEWAY FELLOWSHIP) |
The first meeting of the Trustees of Gateway Fellowship takes place in the UK. Gateway Fellowship changes its name to 'Open Doors with Brother Andrew' in 1981. |
| 1978: MIDDLE EAST MINISTRY |
Contact with churches in the Middle East begins. |
| 1981: PROJECT PEARL |
One million Bibles are delivered to a beach in China in just one night. Time magazine calls is a "bold expedition". |
| 1982: SEVEN-YEAR PRAYER CAMPAIGN |
Open Doors launches a seven-year campaign of prayer for the Communist Bloc. It ends with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Soviet Union is opened to the Gospel and Christian prisoners are released. |
| 1985: PROJECT CROSSFIRE |
Five million pieces of literature are distributed in Latin America and thousands of youth are discipled to share their faith in Christ. |
| 1989: TARGET ONE MILLION |
Open Doors delivers one million New Testaments to Russia. |
| 1992: PROJECT SAMUEL |
One million children in the former Soviet Union get their very first Bibles, many in remote areas. |
| 1992: CHINESE STUDY BIBLE |
New Bibles for church leaders and evangelists are printed and distributed. |
| 1994: CHINESE CHILDREN'S BIBLE |
The first Chinese Children's Bible in simplified Chinese is delivered. |
| 1993: ALBANIAN BIBLE |
Brother Andrew presents the President of Albania with the first copy of the full Bible in Albanian. Albania had previously declared itself the world's first atheistic state. |
| 1996: AGAPE STUDY BIBLE |
Study Bibles in Latin American Spanish are printed and delivered. |
| 1996: OPEN DOORS IN IRELAND |
The first full time staff member is appointed in Northern Ireland. |
| 1997: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AWARD |
The World Evangelical Fellowship presents Brother Andrew with the International Religious Liberty Award. |
| 1998: OPERATION DAILY BREAD |
Open Doors launches its first relief project: Food and supplies are flown in to remote areas of war-torn southern Sudan. |
| 1999: FEEDING THE REVIVAL |
Open Doors delivers over two million Bibles and Christian study materials to Chinese believers. |
| 2000: PROJECT BAMBOO |
One million Bibles and one million pieces of Christian literature are delivered to China, the largest annual delivery since Project Pearl |
| 2001: OPEN DOORS YOUTH |
The first Open Doors Youth forum comes together to identify how to best reach the next generation with the message of the persecuted church. |
| 2002: OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY |
Open Doors launches a new seven-year prayer campaign - this time for China, leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. |
| 2003: HEART FOR IRAQ |
Open Doors launches 'Heart for Iraq' delivering materials and bringing encouragement to the church in Iraq |
| 2005: 50TH ANNIVERSARY |
Open Doors celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Three-year prayer chain for North Korea is launched. |
| 2008: BROTHER ANDREW’S 80TH BIRTHDAY |
Brother Andrew celebrates his 80th birthday and Open Doors' supporters send in hundreds of birthday greeting cards. |
| 2010: RIGHT TO BELIEVE CAMPAIGN |
Right to Believe campaign sees around 150,000 UK Christians (over 428,000 worldwide) sign up and show their support for persecuted Christians. |
