The Bartimaeus Bible Conference
Born out of a special need for fellowship with other blind Christians and the sharing of resources, BAB Inc. was started by Grant Metcalf, a blind Christian serving God in a local San Francisco Peninsula community church. Desiring to reach out to others in similar or less fortunate circumstances as himself, Grant contacted the Christian Services for the Blind, Inc. in Southern California to inquire about sponsoring a camp. With their help, BAB Inc. began to take shape, and in 1991 our first Bible Conference took place.
From the beginning, speakers at the camp have been expounding out of the Bible on the principles, practice and power of the spiritual life. Speakers for the camp have included Pastor Ron Matlock of the Community Church of Brisbane, California; Rev. George Gray, editor of Circle of Love, a tape magazine for the blind; and Pastors Jim Vining and Steve Tregenza, as well as David Spurbeck from the Dispensational Theological Seminary in Cherry Grove, OR.
Relaxation, times of worship, music, Bible study, and sharing together provide spiritual nourishment that ministers to the needs of the heart. Revitalized, campers return to their home churches to continue their ministry. Our conferees have come from all over the United States and foreign countries.
More recently BAB Inc. has started limited hardcopy braille production--a by-product being our online Braille and Christian Bookshare Libraries. The braille ready files can be downloaded for personal braille production or read online with a refreshable braille display. The Christian Bookshare section contains copyrighted print materials. Both library sections require joining a membership list, limited to those people who are reading disabled. However, there are lots of books in the free Public Domain Library for any and all to access.
In 2001 Bartimaeus Alliance of the Blind, Inc., became a registered nonprofit corporation with the IRS.