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Partner Profile: Tibor Miklós and The Bartimeus Foundation

Watch Partner Profile: Tibor Miklós and The Bartimeus Foundation 

Listen Partner Profile: Tibor Miklós and The Bartimeus Foundation 

Tibor Miklós’ testimony is a powerful one. His life illustrates how God can take tragedy and loss and transform it into a route to serve others and exhibit God’s heart to the world.

Twelve years ago, as an adult, Tibor was diagnosed with a rare degenerative eye disease. He went on to become completely blind. This awful turn of events sent him into a deep depression. Lost, and without a vision for what his life was now that he couldn’t see, he felt that God had abandoned him. Then God reached into his pain and gave him a dream.

Tibor Miklos Distributing MegaVoice Audio Bibles in Kiskőrös, Hungary
Tibor pictured distributing MegaVoice audio Bibles during a mission weekend in Kiskőrös, Hungary.

The Bartimeus Foundation

Tibor realized that there must be thousands of others in his home country of Hungary who experienced the same loneliness, grief, and limitations that he did. He was not alone in his pain, even though it often felt as if he was.

Consequently, he grew determined to reach the blind, disabled, and marginalized of Hungary with the Gospel. And not just with an evangelistic message, either, but with holistic, long-term discipleship that would build community and generate hope. It was this determination, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that led Tibor to found The Bartimeus Foundation.

Attendees at a Bartimeus Foundation camp for the blind in Balatonföldvár, Hungary.
Attendees at a Bartimeus Foundation camp for the blind in Balatonföldvár, Hungary.

The Mission

Together with his wife Márta, who has the same degenerative eye disease, Tibor began connecting with other ministries in Europe that serve the blind. Relationships built through Torch Trust helped him navigate the work required to set up a nonprofit.

Tibor began hosting outreach events for blind and disabled people in Budapest. He longed to see the church united and thriving, populated with individuals that society has forgotten about.

Recipients at a Bartimeus Foundation audio Bible donation event in Ukraine.
Recipients at a Bartimeus Foundation audio Bible donation event in Ukraine.

The Expansion

Shortly after beginning their outreach efforts, the Bartimeus Foundation was gifted a MegaVoice audio Bible by InTouch Ministries. Tibor didn’t know anything about MegaVoice, but he realized that this audio Bible was a great tool for reaching blind people.

After Tibor posted about the audio Bible on his social media channels, InTouch Ministries reached out to help him acquire more audio Bibles to share with people in need. With these players, recipients listen to God’s Word in their heart language, along with basic discipleship teachings by Dr. Charles Stanley.

Generous donations from both InTouch Ministries and MegaVoice allowed the Bartimeus Foundation to begin distributing audio Bibles in Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia in addition to Hungary. Some players have even found their way to Siberia! The Foundation works with missionaries and partners in many different denominations to facilitate distributions where they are most needed.

MegaVoice Audio Bible Distribution in Transcarpathia
Participants in an audio Bible distribution in Transcarpathia.

God at Work

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bartimeus Foundation had to discontinue their evangelistic events. But people still requested audio Bibles and Tibor was able to mail them out to lonely individuals in need of encouragement and hope. Hundreds, if not thousands, of blind and disabled people asked the Bartimeus Foundation for a MegaVoice audio Bible.

“COVID did not stop this ministry,” said Tibor. “In one of my favorite testimonies from this time, a man in the hospital with COVID was listening to a MegaVoice. He asked the people in the beds around him if he was disturbing them and if he should use headphones but they said, ‘Oh no no, we also would like to hear!’”

More recently, the Bartimeus Foundation received 1,500 MegaVoice audio Bibles in the Ukrainian and Russian languages and they were able to give them to an organization that serves blind people in Ukraine. Many blind Ukrainians who are experiencing trauma and upheaval due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict received their own MegaVoice audio Bibles.

Tibor was also able to collaborate on a church plant specifically for Ukrainian refugees in Budapest. The Foundation is helping provide food and necessities in addition to MegaVoice audio Bibles.

Participants in a mission trip from the American LPC Church to the Bartimeus Foundation.
Participants in a mission trip from the American LPC Church to the Bartimeus Foundation.

Holistic Discipleship

Now, the Bartimeus Foundation’s main outreach is distributing audio Bibles to blind people. However, they also host camps to help blind people connect and grow in their faith. At a recent camp with 54 attendees, 7 people came to Christ. The Bartimeus Foundation is working with these seven precious individuals to help them find a church and a community of Christian support.

One of these individuals is a woman in her thirties who has young twin daughters with eye cancer. She came to the camp, became a Christian, and the Bartimeus Foundation connected her with a loving, welcoming church. The Foundation is also helping the church improve their accessibility offerings.

“We help blind people get integrated in the local church,” said Tibor. “Not just introducing people to Christ, but helping them grow in Christ. We don’t just give them the MegaVoice player and then say goodbye.”

Tibor speaking at a Ukrainian refugee outreach event.
Tibor speaking at a Ukrainian refugee outreach event.

A Vision of Partnership

Tibor’s work shows how important partnership is in the expansion of God’s Kingdom. One of Tibor’s stories demonstrates this truth. During the pandemic, the Foundation received 500 MegaVoice audio Bibles in the Russian and Romanian languages, both spoken in the Republic of Moldova. Because of COVID, Tibor was not able to travel to share these audio Bibles as planned.

Through the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tibor was connected with the Hungarian embassy in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. The embassy helped the players get where they needed to go.

“If I would have taken them, I would have had to pay taxes and customs fees,” said Tibor. “We are thankful for the Hungarian Embassy who took the players in Moldova, and we did not have to pay anything! A local missionary distributed the players for free. While a lot of people had to work together to make it happen, God ended up using these difficult circumstances to help us save money.”

Bartimeus Foundation volunteers helping coordinate a donation to a Ukrainian orphanage.
Bartimeus Foundation volunteers helping coordinate a donation to a Ukrainian orphanage.

Pressing On

The Bartimeus Foundation currently has four staff members and 25-30 volunteers. Due to recent inflation, the team often struggles to accomplish their work. Rising gas prices and the increased cost of living has made the Foundation’s operations much more expensive.

“God is using audio Bibles in an amazing way, but we have more requests and more invitations than we are able to respond to. Please donate to help us advance God’s Kingdom among the disabled, marginalized, and poor in Eastern Europe. We are completely nonprofit, so we depend 100% on donations for our mission. For secure on-line giving to our ministry, please visit our giving page.

I very much appreciate your ministry and it’s so important for the body of Christ to see how God is using audio Bibles.”

Ukrainian MegaVoice audio Bible recipients.
Ukrainian MegaVoice audio Bible recipients.

At MegaVoice, we equip our Partners to fulfill the Great Commission so all people may engage with the Word of God in their own language.

There are many ways you can Partner with us in this mission!

  1. Sponsor an audio Bible each month for a person in need of hope.
  2. Purchase audio Bibles for your own use and distribution.
  3. Donate to a fundraising project through our nonprofit, MegaVoice International.
  4. Pray for our global team as they work to serve God.
  5. Subscribe to our newsletters to receive regular updates on our work. 

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