Greg Yoder, Executive Director of Keys for Kids, says, “We literally have kids that want to know spiritual truth in Pakistan – Christian and Muslim families! And the only thing holding us back is not having the funds.

“It just got me thinking, wow, we have the cure. If we had the cure for cancer, we would be providing this and money would be flowing in. But we have the cure for eternal life, and yet we don’t have the funds.”

(Photo of a boy in Pakistan with a Storyteller, courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries)

Keys for Kids has translated Storyteller content into Urdu for distribution in Pakistan. Many Pakistani kids have to work to help provide for the family and they are unable to read. Biblical audio stories are a critical way to connect with these children and their families and introduce them to Jesus.

As word-of-mouth spreads, the demand for more Storytellers is growing!

Christian partners in Pakistan tell Keys for Kids they literally can’t keep Storytellers on the shelves, they go so quickly.

“As we’re hearing these stories from our friends there…they said, ‘We don’t have any more in inventory in the Urdu language,'” Yoder says. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why? Why is this?’ It’s simply, we don’t have the money. That’s the bottom line.”

The ministry knows one Pakistani pastor who says he could easily distribute 600 Storytellers per month, if only he could continue to get them.

Yoder explains, “One hundred and fifty people generally, on average, will listen to a Storyteller…. I mean, think about that – 600 [Storytellers] times 150 is 90,000 people; 90,000 people times 12 [months] is one million people!”

If just 20 churches, businesses, or individuals gave $500 a month to Keys for Kids, one million people in Pakistan would hear the Gospel over the next year.

Keys for Kids also plans to translate Storyteller audio content into Pashto for distribution in neighboring Afghanistan.

Give any amount today at the Keys for Kids website!

Yoder also asks, “Pray that somehow, beyond whatever we could ask or imagine, God would provide funding in the most amazing way, that we could see not only Pakistan but Afghanistan reached for the Gospel.”

Header photo courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries.

In the meantime, ministries like Transform Iran make bold use of satellite TV, YouTube, websites and more to spread the truth about Jesus. 

“We have two 24/7 radio stations, one purely worship music, and one a whole mix of discussion, Bible study, Bible reading. Any way that we can use the digital world to help us communicate with the people of Iran, we will use it,” says Lana Silk with Transform Iran.

Is reform on internet restrictions possible in Iran? We’ll have to wait and see. (Representative stock photo courtesy of Ali Haghighi via Unsplash.)

Silk shares the reasons that media is so effective in reaching Iranians. 

“One of them is the accessibility that it gives us. You can see that picture of the nomadic herdsman sitting in the foothills with his radio station dialing in, you know, right through to people in the inner cities on their social media networks, trying to access different information to what they’ve been fed.

“Also, media allows us more easily to speak to different language groups, ethnic minorities in Iran who wouldn’t as easily connect to a Farsi presentation of the gospel. We can have audio dramatizations of the Word of God in their languages, and suddenly we capture their hearts with that.” 

Another reason for media’s effectiveness comes from the Iranian regime itself, which bans access to Christian media. 

“They’re breeding an increased hunger in the people of Iran who want to know what this thing is that the government is so determined they don’t access. Again, media helps us get that to them quickly,” Silk says. 

Lives changed in God’s perfect timing

Stories come in regularly of how God led people to turn on Transform Iran’s TV or radio programs at a critical moment in their lives. Pray for more people to be reached! 

“We can be literally praying them through that process, that God would draw them to the media at the right time, that God would speak to them clearly in those moments when they’re reaching out, that there would be a heart connection,” Silk says. 

“Then once they hear the gospel, we can be praying for them to connect with believers for their discipleship process, for fruit to come out of their lives.”

(Photo courtesy of Transform Iran)

Consider sponsoring a broadcast segment at Transform Iran. Just $800 (€735) will cover all associated costs to produce 30 minutes of high-quality evangelistic or discipleship material for satellite broadcast. 

Learn more about Transform Iran’s media ministries and give here. 

Header photo courtesy of Transform Iran.

Allen Decker with MegaVoice says, “Friends of ours at Torch Trust in the UK, they’ve done a lot of significant studies that show whether you know it or not most congregations have about 10 to 20% of somebody that has some form of visual impairment.” 

To help bring God’s Word to everyone, MegaVoice creates handheld audio players loaded with many kinds of Bible resources. 

Image courtesy of MegaVoice.

“We make it simple on purpose so that that it can be used by everyone. With the tactile keypads on our devices, [a person] can, with either low vision or no vision at all, be able to feel the buttons and navigate through their Bible and Bible teachings,” Decker says.

These audio players are meeting a critical need in the U.S. and around the world. 

“A lot of people have this misunderstanding that people have access to those books in other formats like Braille. Unfortunately, with a lot of the groups that we work with, a major demographic is 65 years and older,” Decker says. “They’ve lost their sight later in life, due to medical conditions, and never had the opportunity to learn Braille, or some of the other formats that, that are available.” 

Awareness is the first step. Now that you know, what can you do to better know and serve brothers and sisters in your church? (Read what one woman, Maureen, shares about this.)

If you’re looking for more resources to grow, Decker points to ministries such as Joni and Friends and Torch Trust. 

“[Joni and Friends has] a focus of helping churches understand and welcome people with various disabilities. [Torch Trust has] a ministry designed to work with churches more closely, and understanding various disabilities and the resources that are available,” says Decker. 

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Chuttersnap/Unsplash.

“Unfortunately, the Chinese government found out about it and arrested two of her students,” says Greg Yoder with Keys for Kids Ministries. “They were threatening her arrest and doing a lot of research, and God in His sovereignty just allowed this couple to get out.”

Keys for Kids knows this couple because the husband also helped provide Keys for Kids audio on an app for children in China for several years.

Yoder says, “The Chinese government…shut it down after finding 100,000 kids were actually listening to Keys for Kids on a daily basis. It was obviously the largest distribution that we had with Keys for Kids Ministries!

“Now this couple is in the United States and we are [planning to] bring them on staff at Keys for Kids Ministries to begin Keys for Kids Ministries China.”

(Photo courtesy of Jerry Wang via Unsplash)

In China, it is illegal to proselytize children. But Yoder says young people in China are hungry for true hope, especially teens.

“Teenagers, I’m told by our friend, is they get up in the morning, they go to school, they don’t get home from school till sometimes eight or nine o’clock at night, then they study and they do it all again the next morning. There’s nothing for them and there’s no hope. There’s just nothing but utter frustration and depression and anxiety with teenagers, and there is a huge need to reach them,” Yoder says.

“That’s what we’re going to do…. The government tells us that we can’t share the Gospel with kids and teens, but they’re craving it. We know that the Lord Jesus wants us to tell little children and teenagers about Him so we’re going to continue to do that in the best way possible.”

From a 24-7 radio station to print and audio materials, Keys for Kids has big plans to reach Chinese children with the Gospel, and they see the Lord moving.

“We don’t know how it’s going to happen. But we do know this: If we can get materials into Nepal and if we can get materials into Pakistan, we can get materials into China.”

(Photo courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries)

For now, Keys for Kids has to overcome a few hurdles. First, they need to fund a position to hire their partner from China. He would begin part-time with plans to eventually become full-time.

If you are interested in helping fund this partner’s position for Keys for Kids Ministries China, click here to contact Keys for Kids! You can also donate directly to the ministry here.

And, of course, please pray. Yoder asks, “Pray right now for all of the government stuff that we have to go through to get our partner the paperwork they need to begin working with Keys for Kids Ministries.”

Pray for the Gospel to ultimately find inroads in China.

Header photo courtesy of Christian Leu via Unsplash.

Ed Weaver with Spoken Worldwide says, “As you look at the consumption of information by people around the world, it’s continuing to grow in terms of non-text based consumption. So whether it’s online news, whether it’s streaming videos, whether it’s podcasts, whether it’s other audio content [or] audiobooks, there’s just a huge growth spurt that we all have seen happening.”

One common myth is that oral Bible translation is just for people who can’t read. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

(Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

Roughly two-thirds of people in the world are oral learners — people who can’t read and/or simply prefer not to — and oral Bibles for them!

For example, Weaver shares, “A friend of mine that works with YFC in Lebanon has said, ‘I’ve had to change my entire Bible study methodology so that I could disciple people better…. I’ve actually had to start listening to audio Bibles so I can then tell the people I’m discipling, ‘Why don’t you listen to this passage and then let’s discuss it.’’”

Spoken Worldwide supports oral Bible translation because they believe learning by text shouldn’t be a requirement to have God’s Word. 

Going into 2021, their ministry is expanding to keep up with oral Bible requests.

“That wasn’t necessarily expected,” Weaver says. “We’ve got to find ways to scale pretty quickly. So one of the challenges we face is how do we find people fast enough that can help us meet the demand for this type of content? And to be able to do that effectively? Not just scale for scale’s sake, but how do you scale with quality?”

As Spoken Worldwide looks to grow in oral Bible translation work, pray for their discernment to steward God’s resources well.

Weaver also says they would love feedback from fellow believers who would like to contribute to the oral Scripture movement. “We’ll take any kind of comments at info@spoken.org to say, ‘Have you thought about this? Would you consider this? How are you going to address this particular issue?’”

Learn more about Spoken Worldwide here!

Header photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide.

Spoken Worldwide records storied passages of translated Scripture for oral learners, and they just launched five new projects this past year.

Ed Weaver with Spoke Worldwide says there is a big difference between oral Scripture delivery and mere audio. “An audio delivery would be a Bible open in front of a reader with a microphone in front of them and they are reading what has been written down in text…. [With] spoken word, we use idioms, slang, we communicate in a more natural delivery than a more formal type of communication we just put down on a page.

“What we’re ultimately trying to do in oral Bible translation is create a natural delivery — the way people use their language in a local culture as a way to deliver Scripture, something that is faithful to the original text but in a very natural delivery that people would be able to understand completely and respond to.”

(Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

When an oral learner — even if they have the ability to read — listens to a spoken or oral Bible passage, they understand the passage and its spiritual meaning at a much deeper, personal level.

Spoken Worldwide’s oral translation process is detailed and rigorous, involving multilingual speakers, written Scripture review (for those that are part of the process and can read), oral translation and internalization, practiced storying, and local focus group sessions. Theologically qualified people meticulously review every step of the oral translation and presentation process.

Ultimately, these “storied” passages of translated Scripture are recorded for use in oral learning communities.

“Now, there are some presumptions on our part,” Weaver says. “This is translation that never hits a page. So there are people out there doing oral Bible translation, but in the process, they may be committing it down into a written form.

“Spoken Worldwide is saying, ‘We’ll let the experts in text-based translation handle that portion of it. We, on the other hand, are going to focus on that portion of the culture that really never need a written translation [and] would never use a written translation. So we’ll stay purist, if you will. We will start with oral and we will end with oral.’”

Although Spoken Worldwide’s five current oral Bible translation projects show encouraging signs of progress, there is still so much need.

(Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

Weaver says, “If you look at the final list of Bible translations that need Scripture and did the research, you’d find that probably at least two-thirds of those, if not more, will require an oral Bible translation.”

If you would like to support their mission, click here to donate to Spoken Worldwide!

Weaver also asks, “Pray for the rising up of talented people that have an understanding and a passion for…people to have access to Scripture no matter what their ability to read is. This is a complete paradigm shift in the translation world and the need is beyond imagination.”

Header photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide.

(Photo courtesy of Jesus Film)

TWR’s Brandon Neal tells us a bit more about the project.

“A lot of people in the world has seen The JESUS Film, but not a lot of people have heard the message of Jesus. So, they took the audio track out of the film, and then they added in what was necessary so that it made sense as a full stand-alone audio product,” Neal says.

“What that means is they would add in things like…sound effects for people walking or things like that…so that it makes sense to a listener.”

The Story of Jesus

The whole audio drama of The Story of Jesus is about a ninety-minute listen. TWR is airing the audio drama to hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide in 69 languages via shortwave, AM, FM, and satellite broadcasts. The audio drama is also available to stream online. Play it on your device for those long travels to visit family this holiday season or listen to the audio drama on Christmas day!

(Photo courtesy of TWR via Facebook)

In its three years, TWR and Jesus Film are already seeing the fruits of their labor across the world.

“This actually came from a European broadcast in [the] Polish language. And this person wrote in and said, ‘I’m a blind person. Your programs are irreplaceable to me. The soundtrack of this Jesus movie that you broadcast this week is the most precious gift for Christmas and New Year’s’,” Neal says.

“This person who could have never seen The JESUS Film is able to hear the content from The JESUS Film, which is essentially the Gospel of Luke. And this person is able to be encouraged; they’re able to draw closer to the God that made them. They’re able to hear how much God loves them through what Jesus did during His life, His ministry, His death, burial, and resurrection.”

Pray for Listeners

Along with listening to The Story of Jesus, will you pray for God to use this audio drama to reveal Himself to listeners?

“Pray for the people that are listening to The JESUS Film audio drama in their language, and also for the teams on the ground who are answering their questions,” Neal asks.

(Photo courtesy of JESUS Film Project).

In many locations, TWR staff asks questions at the end of the drama. These questions dig into people’s thoughts and ask if they want to know more about Christ. Then, the audience has the opportunity to respond to these questions through letters, texts, phone calls, and emails. When listeners reach out, TWR staff connect with them directly to answer questions and respond to comments.

During Christmas of 2018, when TWR broadcast The Story of Jesus, TWR heard back from over 4,700 people. At least 43 of those people decided they wanted a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Pray God continues using this audio adaptation to draw people closer to Him.

“That’s why we do what we do. That’s why we’re in media missions, is to see people come to faith in Christ, to be encouraged in their faith, and to essentially go from a position of doubt to a position where they can make a decision to where they’re in a discipleship relationship with someone, with another believer,” Neal says.

To stream the audio drama The Story of Jesus, click here!

Explore more of TWR’s work here.

To learn more about Jesus Film, click here.

Header photo courtesy of TWR.

Changing Our Outlook

For World Mission and on-the-ground missionaries, the focus is on these unreached nations of Kenya.

“I think every follower of Jesus needs to have a knowledge of at least one unreached people group in their vocabulary, in their mind, that they’re praying for. Whether it’s the Orma, the Waata, the Wardei, the Pokomo, there’s thousands of nations in the world that are yet to have their first gospel witness,” says World Mission Executive Director Greg Kelley.

Currently, most awareness is focused on Kenya as a whole rather than the very different nations that make up the country, Kelley says. These groups can be difficult and dangerous to reach, but they need to be the real focus of the Kenyan Church

Changing Our Mindset

Reaching these groups requires a different mindset and high levels of resilience. Recently, a local Christian named Abdullah walked 50 kilometers to attend a World Mission training session, only to have the place of worship torn down by a mob from his home town.

“What was interesting is that one of the topics in the training was, ‘what is the Church?’ And it’s not about protecting a building, but rather equipping the real Church to engage itself in activities that lead to multiplying disciples,” Kelley says.

The incident was a paradigm shift for Abdullah, who now intends to go into these unreached

Treasure audio Bible (Photo courtesy of World Mission)

Muslim communities to plant house churches.

“It’s going to take those kind of attitudes to reach the nations of the earth that are yet to hear about Jesus,” Kelley says.

These unreached and primarily Muslim minority people groups are in some of the most persecuted areas in the world for Christians. That pressure is primarily due to the influence of Somalia and Al Shabaab.

World Mission has national partners on the ground in northern Kenya and northeast Kenya that engage these minority Muslim people groups. These are some of the most persecuted areas in the world because of the influence of Somalia and Al-Shabaab. Hearing of partner homes being burned, beatings, and break-ins are regular occurrences in these regions.

However, believers still go to reach these communities, often using solar-powered audio Bibles provided through World Mission. Learn more about World Mission here. These audio Bibles are translated into dozens of different languages.

“If you’re going to engage these minority people, groups, you have to do it in their mother tongue,” Kelley says.

How to Pray

Kelley asks believers to go beyond country and develop a deeper understanding of these communities.

“We’re aware of Kenya. But we have no clue about the nations inside of Kenya. So every follower of Jesus, I would challenge them to embrace as, as an individual, as a family, as a church, one of the nations that are considered unreached, that the Joshua project would identify and pray for them.”

For a list of Kenyan people groups click here.

Please pray for World Mission’s local partners as they risk their lives and safety to deliver the message of these audio Bibles to communities throughout Kenya. Pray for their success, strength, and safety.

Header photo courtesy of World Mission.

(Photo courtesy Audio Scripture Ministries)

Mozambique (MNN) – A year ago, Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, was faced with an ongoing drought that left the nation seriously short on water.

However, Cyclone Idai deluged the country last week, and while it sounds like a respite, going from drought-parched land to flooded land basically overnight is actually one of the toughest transitions to make.   Topsoil is mostly dust, which makes for poor root systems and that means loose dirt that can’t absorb the water.  A sudden influx of water will wash away what crops there were,  leading to food security problems down the road.

Banking Crisis and Refugee Increase

This dual disaster comes shortly after the November 2018 banking crisis, when the largest electronic banking system in the country was temporarily shut down due to debt claims. This caused nearly all ATMs and debit cards in the country to cease function.

Mozambique is also experiencing an increase in their refugee population as people flood into the country from surrounding regions. The number of refugees has doubled since 2015, from 26,000 to over 40,000 by mid-2018. These are people coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Somalia.

Furthermore, Mozambique has a literacy rate of 47 percent, which means a large chunk of their society learns orally. When it comes to encountering the ultimate Hope during this time of crisis, God’s Word needs to be taught through oral methods like storytelling and audio Bibles.

The organization Audio Scripture Ministries faces several challenges as it steps into Mozambique with audio Bibles. These difficulties and the political instability that Mozambique faces create challenges for the distribution of audio Bibles in the area. Yet ASM continues to work with local pastors and communities to provide God’s Word in audio despite these challenges.

Joshua Harrison, communications and development manager at ASM, says,  “Political instability will come and go and the challenges of entire banking systems shutting down for some time or a cyclone like Idai, will continue to be with us until the country is able to move forward.”

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

In the meantime, Harrison says, “Our team is seeking to move forward and be faithful with what they are given.”

Audio Bibles for Mozambique

To fill the need for audio Bibles, ASM is working to provide 2,000 more audio Bibles for the people of Mozambique.

“There is a great hunger for God’s Word in audio. For many people, they do not have access to a print Bible, they can’t read, or don’t own one, and, for them, hearing God’s Word in audio is the only way they are able to access it,” Harrison says.

Harrison says pastors and leaders are already asking for more audio Bibles so their communities may hear God’s Word as well. ASM is currently raising funds to send even more audio Bibles over to Mozambique in the future.

But providing an audio Bible is not a one-to-one ration with people hearing the Gospel.

One audio Bible helps not only the individual but also their families and villages. “One audio Bible can reach 8, maybe 10, maybe 12 people and really transform not only the individual but families and help bring the light of the Gospel to entire villages as more people listen and respond to God’s Word,” Harrison says.

Hearing God’s Word

The audio Bibles ASM provides are solar powered, durable, and can play the Bible for 14 hours straight. They are made to last in harsh and unstable conditions.

“[These Bibles] can be recharged regardless of whether or not they have electricity that day is a huge blessing and can be a life-changing thing,” Harrison says.

For those in Mozambique, this is the only way many can encounter the Bible.

“For just 35 dollars… we can provide God’s Word in audio with the heart language recording completed to a family in Mozambique,” Harrison says.

Such durable Bibles last much longer than other audio devices and can help share God’s Word in Mozambique.

Do you want to get involved?

Click here to donate an audio Bible to Mozambique.

You can also pray for Mozambique as they face these challenges and instability and that they may hear God’s Word.

Header photo courtesy of ASM via Facebook.

Meeting the Unreached

Many Christians do not have a clear understanding of unreached people groups. Media and literature can only convey so much. However, CEO of World Mission, Greg Kelley says his organization wants to show us more.

(Photo courtesy of World Mission)

“We have vision trips that we’ll take people to, that allows them to experience and see areas that are unreached. They would go into a place, and they would meet people that are largely without a Gospel witness, and through our national partners, we mobilize, and we go into some of these communities. We distribute treasures, our solar-powered audio Bibles,” Kelley says.

“We meet people who are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhists. We pray over these areas. We pray with the people, but, there’s something amazing about having a historic experience of putting the word of God into someone’s hands for the first time in their lives.”

Kelley says at the end of the day these vision trips are about exposing the Church to the need for the Gospel in unreached regions. It is about challenging the Church to lean into these areas and fulfill the Great Commission. Kelley hopes the vision trips spark something in the Christians who experience them. He hopes it drives home the reality that people are living without the Gospel. It’s the “why” behind these trips. It’s about helping people understand the nations of the world who need access to the Gospel.

Join a Trip

World Mission has vision trips in Northern Kenya, Nepal, and the Philippines. Each of these countries has its own challenges for Christians and pockets of unreached people groups.

“Once someone comes into contact with a village, an individual, a people or family that has never heard of Jesus, it just changes your perspective entirely of missions,” Kelley says.

“For someone to experience a location that is totally void of Jesus, it will help them have a healthier understanding of the Great Commission and have them have a proper understanding of what the ends of the earth is.”

To learn more about a Vision Trip and get involved, reach out to World Mission here!

Finally, pray for more people to join in sharing the Gospel in unreached areas. Pray for national leaders who are doing the heavy lifting for the Gospel. Ask God to give them perseverance, strength, and encouragement in their work.

Header photo courtesy of World Mission.