Recently I heard someone who defends the RV1960 Spanish Bible (which contains the corrupt Critical Text) mocking the RVG Spanish Bible. This person claimed that no one is using the RVG and that no one wants them. Perhaps the statement that the RVG has few people using it was true the year the RVG was first released in 2004, but it is certainly not true in 2025. In this article, I would like to update the reader on the current reception of the RVG Spanish Bible.
My own experience
Here in Colombia I have personally witnessed the popularity of the RVG growing immensely over the last few years. The church I pastor uses the RVG and we have a large and thriving ministry. Our church YouTube channel has more subscribers than some US churches that run 1,000 and most of our sermons (all using the RVG) get hundreds of views. We are starting churches, training laborers, and winning souls to Christ with this precious traditional text Bible! And it's not just us, there are a number of other thriving ministries in Colombia that are 100% RVG.
We also run a distribution center for tracts, Romans, and RVG Bibles. I am constantly getting requests from churches all around Colombia who want the RVG. Many nationals have done their own research and have come to the conclusion that the RVG is the purest Spanish Bible. I once walked into a random Christian bookstore in Colombia and saw the RVG for sale and also a book on why the RVG was the best Spanish Bible available!
Is the RVG only being used by Baptists?
Some RV1960 supporter claim that only Baptists are using the RVG, but this is simply not the case. Just last week, one of my church members showed me a Colombian evangelical preacher on YouTube who was preaching from the RVG. I am unashamedly Baptist and we can thank Baptists for the existence of this version, but Baptist churches are not the only ones that want and use the RVG. There are many churches from a variety of denominations that have adopted it because they rightly believe that it is the best Bible available in Spanish. This is not limited to Colombia, many distributors that I know in other countries have told me that the same is true in their country of distribution.
The popularity of the RVG among missionaries
While many new missionaries to Spanish speaking countries continue to use the RV1960 because of its popularity, those that value textual purity are overwhelmingly choosing the RVG. I am part of one of the largest Baptist missions boards and there are three of us missionaries from my mission board who are members of the RVG Bible society. Many new missionaries from a wide variety of missions boards are constantly adopting the RVG beause they do not want to preach from the Critical Text RV1960. This is all despite immense pressure from the RV1960 crowd that is designed to prevent them from choosing to support the textually pure RVG. There are many missionaries all around the Spanish speaking world that are using and starting churches with the RVG.
The popularity of the RVG among national pastors
Those that discourage others from supporting textual purity often say something like "the only ones who care about this issue are American missionaries." While this always comes across to me as racist, like textual purity is important for us Americans but not for hispanics, it's simply not true. Some of the most passionate defenders of textual purity that I know are hispanics. I have personally seen the great zeal that many hispanics have for the RVG because it is faithful to the traditional text and is not contaminated with the Critical Text. What they need is for missionaries who support the RV1960 to stop deceiving them about this issue and stop dismissing it as not important for anyone other than Americans.
While it is impossible to know all the churches around the world that are using the RVG, the popularity of the RVG amongst national pastors and missionaries was displayed by a recent petition to print the Bible that was signed by ministries around the world. While this list by no means includes all or even most of the RVG churches, the following info reflects those ministries that saw and took the time to sign the online petition asking printing ministries to please print the RVG Spanish Bible.
United States - over 60 pastors and ministry leaders
Mexico - over 60 pastors and ministry leaders
Other countries - over 80 pastors and ministry leaders
The current state of RVG distribution in 2025
At the time of this writing the RVG is being distributed in at least 16 countries and more are being added all the time. Millions of RVGs are being circulated in these countries and the RVG Bible Society is constantly looking for new printing ministries in the United States to help meet the demand. Some distributors (like in Peru) receive a container of 20,000 Bibles and they are gone within a matter of weeks. We give thanks for the multiple Bible printing ministries that are hard at work making more Bibles, but the reality is that more help is constantly needed.
Who is making money?
Those that support the RV1960 sometimes disparage the RVG by claiming that those that use it only do so because the Bible was given to them for free. I would like to respond to this false claim in three parts.
First, while it is true that new believers in my church get a free simple Bible, most eventually use their own money to buy a nice leatherbound or hardcover. I am sure that most of the other RVG churches experience the same pattern. In fact, most RV1960 churches are given simple Bibles (paid for by other ministries) which they give out to their new believers as well. Those new believers later on use their own money to upgrade to a nicer and more durable Bible. The RV1960 preachers who laugh at free RVGs being given out should look in the mirror. If they themselves have never given a new believer a free Bible maybe they should consider doing so. Giving a free Bible is a pretty normal thing to do especially since so many ministries provide churches on the mission field with free Bibles regardless of whether they are RVG or RV1960.
Second, while RVG distributors normally do not charge for their simple Bibles, they do charge shipping which can get expensive. The receiving churches usually have to pay for that shipping and this is often difficult for them because they are often very poor. They are not just reluctantly receiving something because it is free.
Third, the blessing of the RVG is that printers can print it free of copyright license fees just like the KJV. This is not the case with the RV1960 which is owned by the United Bible Society. Every time you pay for an RV1960 to be sent to the mission field, you are giving money to the United Bible Society which also owns the copyright to the modern Greek Critical Text and many Critical Text corrupt Bibles. You even have to be careful using the text of the RV1960 in tracts and other literature as you might get hit with a copyright strike from the UBS! This results in the RV1960s being much more expensive to print and license. On top of this, RVG distributors are mostly missionaries who are not making any type of profit. In the end, the RVG is cheaper to produce and distribute and this is a good thing not a bad thing, unless you like lining the pockets of ecumenical Bible Societies.
Conclusion
Despite the misinformation, belittlement, lies, and attacks of some who wish to stop it, the RVG Spanish Bible continues to grow in popularity each and every year. The false information that is being peddled about how "no one wants the RVG" is simply not true. The reality is that the RVG Bible Society struggles to keep up with the demand. Please pray that more and more printing ministries would choose to print and support the RVG Bible and textual purity in the Spanish language!
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