A door for the gospel
F* has recently joined a team serving in the Islands. He shares how teaching English to the Islanders is opening doors to share the gospel.
AIM Ministry: Language & Literacy
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Hebrews 4:12. But what if God’s word hasn’t been translated into your language yet? Or if you simply have never been taught to read?
Hearing someone read and explain the word of God to you is powerful. But, the personal aspect of pouring over Scripture, reading and rereading passages, pondering over words and committing sections to memory allows us to immerse ourselves in the word and draw closer to God. For many in Africa, this experience can be limited. For many unreached people groups scripture just isn’t available in their heart language, or the education system in their remote location means that they don’t have the literacy skills to enjoy reading God’s word.
This is where missionaries can make a difference. Those with a passion for languages can be involved in Bible translation, those with teaching skills can serve Africans learning to read. But all are involved in making God’s word known and drawing his people into a deeper relationship with him.
Related
Speak Laarim
The Laarim live in small villages in a place called the Boya Hills in South Sudan. Listen and learn some Laarim phrases.
Singing the gospel
This term Andrew Wallace has begun songwriting classes among the Laarim young people at Kimatong school. His dream and prayer is that by the start of 2017 there will be there will be a series of Laarim songs, crafted by Laarim people, which will clearly tell the story of the Bible to anyone who listens to them.
Radical change – Learning English in Rwanda
Jean Bosco Nsanzimana, a pastor at Nyarungenge International Chapel in Kigali, Rwanda, talks about why learning English is ‘more than necessary’ for a Rwandan pastor who wants to serve their church.
Literacy among the Laarim
One major challenge in sharing the gospel among the unreached Laarim is that less than 1% of people are literate – they simply haven’t been given the chance to learn.
Claudia Middendorf
I am based in Beira, Mozambique, and serve the local church in training leaders and making Christian literature available.
FindYourFit