Scripture is essential for making disciples. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But there are three things we have to consider as we connect people with disciple with the life-changing Word of God.
Language
Is there Scripture in the language of the people we want to disciple? People need to read and hear God’s Word in their heart language, the language they think and dream in. They need to know that God speaks their language and wants to have a relationship with them. Translating Scripture and making it accessible to the people we disciple is vital.
Format
Translating Scripture is a huge task. When you hold that finished Bible in your hands – hot off the presses – you feel great. But, if the people you want to reach cannot read, having a print Bible in their language doesn’t count for much. Illiterate people need audio Bibles if they are going to hear God’s Word for themselves. People need God’s Word in their language. Furthermore, they need God’s Word in a format – print or audio – that makes sense for their backgrounds, education, and context.
Media
Finally, people need Scripture in a medium they will use. Some people love print Bibles and will read them everyday. For busy travelers, however, large print Bibles make packing difficult. Businessmen may prefer a digital Bible they can read on their BlackBerry or iPhone. If someone cannot read, then a media stick MP3 version of the Bible may make more sense. If they are illiterate and live in a place with no electricity, they need an hand powered or solar powered audio Bible. The media through which the Bible is distributed is as important as having the Bible translated. If you don’t have a translation, you cannot distribute it. If you have a translation, but cannot distribute it, people will never use it to learn about God.
Faith Comes By Hearing
Faith Comes By Hearing is an incredible organization focused on getting the Bible into the hands and hearts of people who need to hear God’s Word in their own language and using a media that makes sense for their context.
From their website:
Faith Comes By Hearing has the world’s largest catalog of Audio Bibles, which includes 521 recordings available in 462 languages spoken by more than 4.5 billion people in 154 countries.
Audio Bible downloads are available to help spread the Word of God to those who cannot read by helping them understand the teachings of Christ in a language they understand – their own. New Testaments on MP3 and the Proclaimer (a dedicated, digital player powered by the sun) are some of the best ways to share the Scriptures. For this reason, Faith Comes by Hearing partners with translation organizations in order to record already-translated New Testaments to reach the world’s oral communities.
MP3 New Testament recordings are being used by volunteers in listening groups around the world. Using the Proclaimer, volunteers can play the Scriptures in the mother tongue of the village. To improve literacy, some listeners follow along in a printed Bible. With these tools, many illiterate children and villagers can begin to learn to read and teach others in their village how to read the Bible as well.
The Bible online has also become popular in the technology-driven countries of North America and Europe. Anyone with an iPod can listen to an MP3 Bible on the go. Audio Bible downloads are easily transferred to a computer or any MP3 device, making it easy to bring the Word of God along with you.
Free Audio Bible downloads and Audio Bible podcasts are offered to those seeking daily inspiration. Or, download the language of your choice, including the Spanish Audio Bible, to so you can learn a new language. Also available are other versions, such as the NIV and KJV Audio New Testaments. However you choose to incorporate the Audio Word of God into your life, you are sure to find them helpful as you grow in faith and inspire those around you.
Faith Comes By Hearing is a tremendous resource for disciple makers. Check them out. Listen to one of their Audio Bibles and download their app – Bible.is – for your iPhone.
You can learn more about Faith Comes by Hearing from their website – http://www.fcbh.org.
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
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3 Responses to Faith Comes By Hearing
Ephrem Hagos
Replied on: July 17, 2010, 9:25 am
Not if we exaggerate the value of Scriptures, like the Jews did, at the expense of firsthand knowledge of Christ (John 5: 39-40)
Paul
Replied on: July 17, 2010, 12:28 pm
@ Ephrem – Once again, thanks for commenting! I’d love to hear more about what you believe about the role Scripture plays in reaching the lost and disciping people into a deeper relationship with Christ.
Jon
Replied on: July 19, 2010, 12:41 pm
Paul,
Thank you for your post about the need for audio Scriptures, Faith Comes By Hearing and the launch of the Bible.is for iPhone app just released.
It’s going to be great when this suite of apps (more coming out) is internationalized. As you know, mobile technology and connectivity is a necessity for many in impoverished countries and not a “luxury” as many here consider.
All of this text and audio is going to be available through an API as well for leaders like you to use freely.