Nepal (MNN) — Not all Bible study methods look the same around the world. Some cultures are comfortable using text materials for Bible study. Others prefer orality methods and dynamic storytelling. That’s something Community Bible Study (CBS) learned.
Ed Weaver with Spoken Worldwide says, “As they’ve grown internationally, one of the things they began to find is that they were finding that people were dropping out of their program after the first year. They discovered that it was largely because people were not able to read or they weren’t in the practice of reading.”
CBS realized that text-based Bible study methods weren’t working in oral cultures. They interviewed other ministries about potential partnership to address the issue and finally linked arms with Spoken Worldwide.
Spoken CBS Orality training in Nepal. (Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)
Spoken Worldwide helped CBS develop a new curriculum using orality methods. Weaver says the Spoken CBS Orality curriculum has really taken off in countries like Nepal, for example, with a focus on multiplying ministry.
“We’re training other ministries to do orality ministry, and not just to do a workshop, but really to develop a strategy. In other words, when the workshop is over, will these students develop an oral strategy to continue ministry focusing on that overlooked population?”
In Nepal, 50 believers recently went through the new Spoken CBS Orality curriculum.
Weaver says, “When you see 50 people that are being trained, the thing that gives me great comfort is that’s not just 50 people that are checking off a box. Those are 50 ministry leaders that are going to go take this curriculum and really replicate what we’ve done.
“You see 50 people that are essentially going to be leading small group Bible studies and they’re going to train up other leaders and those people are going to start small group Bible studies.”
As our Christian brothers and sisters in Nepal grow in their faith in a way that speaks to their hearts, you can get involved through prayer and support!
“We have brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that are taking on a new tool learning a new method of doing ministry, and it’s transforming their lives so much that they want to see other lives transformed in the same way,” says Weaver.
Did you know 2/3 of the world’s population are oral learners?
(Graphic, caption courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)
For readers and listeners, Weaver says, “They can look at this or listen to this, and say, ‘Okay, there’s some real effective ministry that’s going on there. I can…link arms through prayer, I can support it financially, I can get involved in this in a very Holy Spirit-directed manner.”
Click here to learn more about Spoken Worldwide’s ministry.
Header photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide.
