About

Our Goal and Unique Opportunity

OPEN DOOR LIBRARIES has as its primary goal to reach people with the gospel message. We provide unique venues that are non-threatening to individuals and families who have limited access to Christian literature and few opportunities to interact with Christian people. Within the cities where we serve outreach ministries with a meeting place that is acceptable to all are rare. This can only happen as we ask for God’s leading and provide the funding necessary to create environments in which others may come to know Christ.

Our History

Willard Black founded Institute for Christian Resources in 1975. Willard’s desire was to provide practical resources to help people apply scripture to their lives and relationships, with a focus on marriage and parenting. Willard realized the “how to” resources ICR was developing for the American church were desperately needed by church leaders in other part of the world.

Prior to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Christian thought and expression were suppressed for fifty years. Atheism became so deeply rooted that today it is a cultural norm where materialism and humanism flourish. Eastern Europe, like Western Europe, is apathetic or even hostile about God.

Willard began the work of building the network and infrastructure to facilitate the distribution of Christian resources in Eastern Europe. He wanted to provide opportunities for dialogue, places to foster relationships and programs to shift worldviews.

These relationship-building efforts lead to our first library being opened in Prague in 1999 and continues to be the foundation of our ministry.

In 2011 ICR changed its name to Open Door Libraries to more accurately reflect the mission of the ministry. Today we have three thriving libraries in Berlin, Prague and another strategic location.

National leaders are taking note of the positive influence our libraries bring to communities and have requested libraries in their countries as well. We are excited to see what God has planned for more libraries in additional cities in Europe and beyond.

Our Beliefs

• We believe in the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as revealed in the Holy Bible and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.
• We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord of all life as set forth in scripture; that the divine Son became human, was born of a virgin, ministered in word and miracles, died for our sin, was raised bodily from the dead, ascended to God’s right hand and is coming again for his people.
• We believe that the Holy Spirit is presently ministering through the Christian community, empowering lives of godliness and service.
• We believe that the Holy Bible is completely God breathed, true in all its teaching, and the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.
• We believe that Jesus Christ established his church on earth to carry out his saving mission among all nations and formed her to be one holy people.
• We believe that salvation is in Christ alone.

Our Board

Open Door Libraries is supervised by a self-perpetuating policy board which meets bi-annually. These individuals serve as guardians for the integrity of the mission as well as the fiscal accountability on behalf of donors.

• Lawrence Buren (Chairman) – Auburn, CA
• Willard Black (Founder) – Rocklin, CA
• Glen Gibson (Executive Director) – Clemmons, NC
• David Hahn – Moreno Valley, CA
• Kevin Pischke – Lincoln, CA